Happy, but hard, Holidays

The holidays are a busy time - some might say a crazy time. Am I the first to notice this? Per usual, we're booked solid for December performing our show, "Happy Holidays Around the World", a celebration of Kwanzaa, Hanukkah and Christmas in four different states.

It is the middle of the month (12/15) and our band of five performers has been rocked by everything from stomach flu, stress and sore voices. I'm happy to report, though, that we continue to rally on behalf of our goal to deliver great shows. The children, teachers and parents have been very complimentary and I am very proud of our band of brothers and sisters.

Today, Beth and Liz performed together because Larry - a man who NEVER cancels - was out with the flu. Katherine came off the bench and performed with me at a preschool where we had to go off-book more often than not. A triple "BRAVA" to these wonderful women! And tomorrow Larry will return after a one-day (phew!) rest to perform with Liz in Astoria as we all cross our fingers that the transit strike will not cripple our efforts. Sound like fun?

Lastly, I give thanks to my mother who has been schlepping up to Yorktown to help mind our children. Typically we leave the house at 7:00 a.m., so my mom has been wonderful in getting the kids to school every day. We couldn't do it without you, Mom!

Like many businesses, we depend upon the the holidays for a substantial part of our income, so we always have our fingers crossed that all of our plans work out. Truth is, we often have to punt or re-write the playbook while the game is happening. I won't tell you that this is enjoyable. Beth and I have spent many a December night worrying that some sort of straw that breaks the camel's back will befall our small company.

Somehow, it all works out fine, though. And just when we've had our fill of singing "I Have a Little Dreydel", the season is over and we miss seeing Liz, Larry and Katherine every day. We even miss the excitement of driving somewhere new every morning in the freezing cold and not knowing how a show will go, or if the PA equipment will work, or if a guitar string will break in the middle of a song or if the school's band will be on the stage when we get to the gig. I guess part of us must thrive living on the edge!