Update: I directed a play again

Often when we say God's time is always the best, we are trusting that giving up something was the right choice. But it is good to be reminded that sometimes God's timing is giving us the thing we have longed for, right now.

When I stopped directing plays because the boys couldn't handle Mommy being away for so long and distracted so much of the time, I thought maybe when the boys were in junior high, I would be able to direct again. But I wasn't looking for it this year.

In the summer, Mom and Dad took the boys to Bloomburg Theater Ensemble's The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. It was the boys introduction to live theater. They were disappointed with several of the interpretations, especially the modernization of the script, and the casting of a girl as Peter. She did a great job, but Peter is such a hero for the boys, it was disappointing. After the play the boys said things like, "I think, I don't know, but I think I could have done a better job acting Peter and Edmund."

Then in February, we went to see the Logos presentation of The Horse and his Boy at the Museum of the Bible. The boys loved it. Thomas and I enjoyed it. The main things I disliked was telling Shasta's history chronologically instead of as he learns of it, and the epilogue which linked The Horse and his Boy with The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, was a little clunky and didn't feel true to the book characters. And unlike the previous play, I began to think, "If I were directing, I would have..." which was followed by, "I bet the boys are old enough to participate in a play."

 But for a few weeks, it was just a nagging thought, something to consider for next year, not something I was going to pursue immediately. Then Dad asked if I would direct the version of Beauty and the Beast that my brother and I wrote seventeen years ago. After some planning conversations to see if it would work logistically, we decided that we could do it.

I'm not going to go into detail about how those logistics fell apart, how we only had five kids from the school who was supposed to sponsor the play, none of my previous actors were interested or could come to all the performances, and we opened the casting to homeschoolers and a junior high sibling. As with any play there was a bunch of craziness, a week of "how are we going to pull this off," and plenty of reminders to "Speak Louder!" But in the end, we got nine students who had never acted before to perform a play that was really good. Many of those students and parents, and several of the audience, have asked when we are going to do another play.

Because of the play, it was a whirlwind spring. After the play, it was a whirlwind to finish the school year. For the last few weeks, I have finally been able to sit, relax, and reflect about all the changes this year has brought. The boys went from never wanting to act to enjoying it and planning when they can do it again. I went from thinking "Someday in the future..." to "the future is now." But also we formed new friendships and strengthened old relationships. Homeschooling, with its flexibility and freedom, is not only accepted, but enjoyed by our family, and admired from those who see us learning. (As a side note, we have had several people working in and around the house during our school days this year. I always worry when they come because it is obvious the boys "ought to be in school" and aren't. But every single one of them has said things like, "Wow, your kids are learning really well!" or "They are definitely learning more here than they would at school." It is really affirming when the manual laborers who meet the boys go from saying "stay in school, don't get a job like mine;" to "these kids are set up for success" - though this might also be that we have a better plumber now too.)

This play has been a good experience for all of us. We learned what we were able to do. We grew and strengthened our skills. We began to dream about how it make shape the future. But we are also have been reminded that God's timing is the best for us.