The Drama Mama Tells All

*Gulp* I will admit, I am nervous. But, as with any friendship, you have to give a little to fully enjoy it. So, now I give to you….

THE SKELETONS IN THE DRAMA CLOSET.

FAQ #1: Tell us about GC. What does your husband think about being called GC?

GC (for those new readers) stands for George Clooney. I met GC in 2004, through a mutual friend. I was with another guy at the time, but a couple of months later, we ran into each other again, and well, the rest is history. We became engaged on my birthday, February 22, 2005, but didn't actually tie the knot until March 29, 2009 (our friends started to think we were going after the record for the world's longest engagement, but no. It just took us 5 years to determine we could put up with each other for the rest of our lives).

As for GC, he doesn't really care what I call him in my blog. He thinks it's funny that I call him GC because I am not a big GC fan. He's not on my Top Ten "to do" list. In fact, I don't think he really ranks anywhere on my list. But, he is nice to look at. He is aging gracefully. He is older. He seems to be a man of character. My husband is all of these things, too.

Ok, enough about him. Now on to the good stuff….

FAQ #2: Do you work outside the home? If so, what do you do? What was your first job?

I am a SAHM. I am very pleased to be able to stay at home. I was a single parent with my daughter for many years, so I missed out on a lot of her firsts. I am enthralled to be able to stay at home with them now. I wouldn't change it for the world. I think my relationship with my children is better because I stay at home (this is not an endorsement, just stating what works for my household). In addition to being a housewife and mother, I run the office for GC's company. I get a break from October to March since it's a warm weather type of industry.

I like to call myself a jill-of-all-trades because I have worked at so many different types of jobs. I have been a cashier, a waitress, a hostess, a cook, a baker, a receptionist, a data entry clerk, billing. I have worked in fast food, grocery, restaurant, and retail. I started out at the ripe age of 14 as a shampoo girl for the Hair Cuttery. I then moved on to McDonalds, then worked as an office temp-for-hire, as well as different waitressing jobs. I have a collaborative 20 years in the restaurant industry, most of which I was a waitress. Money used to be good, but no one wants to tip a deaf waitress. You just can't meet their needs if you can't hear them calling you when you walk away from the table. So, I retired.

FAQ #3: How many states have you lived in?

I am a Virginia girl, born and bred. I moved out of my parent's house at 18, and at 20, I found myself in Rochester, MN. It was beautiful, but not enough to contain my wanderlust, so I moved on to Chicago, IL. I spent another year there, and fell in love with the city, but circumstances drove me back home. Now, I again live in Virginia, and I think I am destined to die in Virginia. I am trying to talk GC into moving to OK, since my dearest and bestest friend lives there, but he's not biting. He's talking about FL, but I don't know that I am cut out for no snow, either. I don't like a lot of the white powdery stuff, but I like knowing that there's the possibility we will get it (and boy, did we this year!).

FAQ #4: Toilet paper-over or under? Pantry-cans neatly stacked or thrown wherever?

I'm definitely an over kinda gal. I really don't get those unders. Why would you want to reach further to get the paper when you could put it over and have it right there? Yes. I'm that lazy. As for my pantry…


FAQ #5: If you could have any superpower, what would it be and why?

You mean I'm not a superhero, able to leap piles of laundry in a single bound, faster than a speeding spoonful of mashed potato heading for the freshly mopped floor?

For real, though, I would love to be able to fly. I could go anyplace in the world for free, never sit in a traffic jam, and I would save a whole lotta cash because I wouldn't need a car (no car payment) or gas.

FAQ #6: If you could invite any celebrity/famous/infamous person over for dinner, whether alive or deceased, who would it be and why?

If I were having a dinner party, I would have to invite more than one, just to keep it interesting. On my right hand, there would sit Martin Luther King, Jr., a man of great vision, with powerful messages, and strong beliefs. On his opposite side would sit President Obama. To the right of MLK would sit Amelia Earhart, and across from her the Fabulous Miss Marilyn Monroe. Orlando Bloom would be sitting at my opposite end, my eyecandy to drool over during the course of the meal. Since the table is pretty serious, I would have to invite some comic relief, so I would invite Wanda Sykes and Rita Rudner, the 2 funniest ladies in stand up. To round the party out, I would have to invite my favorite actress, Demi Moore, and the second man on my "to-do" list, Johnny Depp.

I think this makes for an interesting evening, yes?

FAQ #7: What do you like most about being a mother?

This truly is a hard one. I love everything about being a mother. I wouldn't trade it for all the money in the world. Perhaps stating the least liked part of being a mom would answer the question. I don't like more than 1 poopy diaper a day. I don't like always feeling ragged at the end of the day. I don't like disciplining. I think this poem sums it up (no, it's not my own. I googled it, author is unknown):

Dear Lord, it's such a hectic day
With little time to stop and pray
For life's been anything but calm
Since You called on me to be a mom
Running errands, matching socks
Building dreams with building blocks
Cooking, cleaning, and finding shoes
And other stuff that children lose
Gitting lids on bottled bugs
Wiping tears and giving hugs
A stack of last week's mail to read
So where's the quiet time I need?
Yet when I steal a minute, Lord
Just at the sink or ironing board
To ask the blessings of Your grace
I seen then, in my small one's face
That you have blessed me
All the while
And I stop to kiss
That precious smile

You know what though? I honestly wouldn't change a thing. My life is a constant challenge with a ADHD/behavioral disorder child, and a never-stopping toddler, but it's my life and I embrace it fully.

FAQ #8: Why do you call yourself The Drama Mama?

There's two reasons why I call myself this. The first is because no matter how calm I try to keep my life, drama just seems to follow me. The second, and main reason, is because my daughter, Jellybean, is the.ultimate.drama.queen. She puts Lola (Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen) to shame. Every day is filled with my daughter's drama, some of which brings tears of laughter, some of which brings tears of pain. It makes every day a new adventure. Keeps things fresh, and far from boring.

FAQ #9: What do you like best about blogging?

Once upon a time, in my youth, I used to be a writer. Somehow, despite that it was exactly what I needed to do, I stopped writing. I spit out the occasional poem here and there, but nothing worth noting. Life was just too busy. Now, though I find my life too busy, I started blogging to take a break, sometimes get my day in perspective, and record memories of our days. Since I have started blogging on a regular basis, I find my creative juices flowing. I feel like I have recaptured my former self—the one that loves to write, the imaginative one. I woke up one morning and asked myself "Whatever happened to that girl with the huge imagination?" and it made me sad to wonder where she went. I love sharing my stories, and I love that people are interested in reading them. I hope that people will continue to love my stories and that maybe, just maybe, my darker stories may be of help to someone else who is or has gone through the same thing. Even if it doesn't, it helps me, and what helps me, keeps me happy, and that makes my family happy, because we all know a happy family starts with a happy mother.

And I am just that.