NOTES FROM THE FIELD

NOT ACCORDING TO SCHEDULE
I was supposed to have done two storytelling workshops at the Boys and Girls Club by this time. I was supposed to have done three performances at the Grounds for Sculpture by this date. But apparently, I, like everyone else living in the Northeast, has been informed that Mother Nature has other plans for us.
To be perfectly honest, all the snow, and even the ice, makes me smile. I love the way it coats the trees, buildings and cars, making everything look sparkly and magical. Last week, as I sunk knee deep into the freshly fallen snow, I looked up at the archway of “fairy dusted” trees, tugged down my new favorite winter hat, and giggled. When I was a kid, I remember saying that snow was the main difference between children and adults – kids LOVE it, adults HATE it!! I even – and I know how incredibly odd this is going to sound – like to shovel. I do! Maybe it’s my macho “I may be short, but I can kick anybody’s bootie” side – but I dig (pun totally intended!!) pushing aside all that white stuff, like Moses parting the Red Sea. And, of course, the cold weather completely feeds into my OBESSION with winter hats – some people are into the shoe thing, others purses –for me, it’s hats!! With hair that is never more than a quarter of an inch long if that, hats are essential in the cold months, and I embrace that. In fact, if you suspect I keep my hat so short that it makes hat wearing easier, you’d be almost right (the fact that I’m a LMG – low maintenance girl - from the way back, and sweat at the gym , dance class and/or yoga every day are the other reasons) Every year when the Christmas markets go up at Union Square, my husband and I spend one cold afternoon finding me a new funky, outrageous, WARM chapeau (this year’s model is one of those Mohawk ones – LOVE IT!!) So, this year’s weather’s MOSTLY hasn’t made me blue – except that it has disrupted my all important SCHEDULE!!!
You see, I got up at 5:15AM the day after the first snowstorm – okay, blizzard, watched garbage cans flying through the air, and was completely certain I was going to get to where I was supposed to go that day AS I HAD PLANNED, before my husband, practically restrained me from leaving our apartment. And while others were watching the ice form on anything that stood still more than a heart beat from their toasty homes the other day, I was making my way to a gig THAT WAS ON MY CALENDAR, never dreaming it was cancelled – which it was, and they never called me because they assumed I was sane (news flash – not so much!! ) and wouldn’t even venture out. The snow, the ice, the sleet, the hail, the total lack of street parking wasn’t going to stop me, because I HAVE A SCHEDULE!!!! But we all know that quote about what God/Universe does when people make plans…
It’s a lesson that I have a heck of a time coming to grips with – that things DO NOT always go as planned!! I can write it in as many of my little calendars as I like. I can prepare for my performances, get my directions, confirm details with my contacts, but that does not mean things are going to happen the way I have conjured them up in my very creative little mind. In fact they seldom do!! But, a lot of the time, how they turn out, is even better. In one of my favorite stories to tell, Lazy Jack, sets out looking for a job, any job, and he ends of marrying into a very rich family – it wasn’t on his day planner – but it happened. In another story, the Knee High Man doesn’t expect to find self acceptance, but he does. And, in one of my most cherished tales, a woman doesn’t give things to others for a reward, but the gifts of friendship, kindness, and compassion she ends up receiving are as beautiful, as they are unexpected.
So, even though I take ENORMOUS pride in being able to juggle my complex storyteller/clown/yoga teacher schedule – I’ve got to remember that there will be bumps in the road – sometimes figuratively, but sometimes, like this winter – real ones, made of ice and snow.