Its Great To Be Eight!

Aydan Cannon Bahe----eight years old!

Aydan, with his new kitten, Shadow.

On January 22nd, eight years ago, at just after midnight, when I had just finished watching a movie with my daughter Brinna, I stood up to go to the bathroom and thought that I had peed my pants. It turned out to be my water breaking and at about seven hours later, at 7:14 a.m., my youngest son, Aydan was born into this world!

Fast forward to January, 2008, as I am discussing with my darling boy what he would like to do for a birthday party this year, as he can do something special, as eight is a special year. (this is the year that he will be baptized in our church, and its a BIG event!)

So, he thought about it and decided to go to the internet for some ideas. (Now, he is only allowed to use Google kids for his search engine, so I wasn't too worried... The last time that he had used the regular Google search engine, he was asking if I would help him fill out an application to go to an art school---yes, college,---because he decided that he wanted to be an illustrator and wanted to start now!)

He came to me about a half hour later and announced that he wanted to go to a place where they paint pottery. "Ok, I thought, that sounds like a fun idea...especially since he is into art."
So, I had to find one in our area, and proceeded to write down the phone number so Bret could call and ask questions, because I hate to talk on the phone. Really.

Fast forward to the week of the party. The reservations were made, the invitations given out and we were just doing the final things to decide what to give in the goodie bags and should we even have goodie bags, and what about the cake?

Well, I prepared myself to start looking for a super-hero cake or something like that. (That is what we did last year and he is obsessed with anything super-hero.)

So, did he want Spiderman?

Did he want Batman?

Did he want Superman?

Imagine my surprise when I asked him, and he replied, "Well, I was thinking that we needed some kind of a pottery cake...you know...to go with our theme and what we are doing for the party!"

Well...

I must admit that I started to worry about the fact that he might be a bit too much like me and that I am a bit anal when it comes to things like this. Or is he just in touch with his feminine side and likes his party to look festive, put-together and cohesive?

So, after several days of discussion, and going back and forth about how I don't have the ability to make a cake that looks like a piece of original painted pottery, (I mean, I have lots of talents, and I can do the impossible usually, but I couldn't figure out how to get the frosting to adhere to the cake if it was cut out of some other cake,...etc....well, you get my drift.) we decided to put some pottery on the top of the cake and put frosting around it to blend it in with the cake.

So, off we went to Bed, Bath and Beyond to pick out some pottery. Aydan went right up to a mug and coaster display and pointed to a green striped mug. "I want that one," he said. "Don't you want to look at some other options?" I replied. "NO!" he answered, "That is the one that I want!" (I wish that I could be so decisive when making household accessory decisions.)
We then stopped by the supermarket and picked up a plain cake with minimal flowers that could be scraped off, and took our goodies home.

The cake turned out great. The party was a huge success. Aydan was extremely happy and I didn't have to be annoyed because the decor didn't match with the cake.

The amazing cake!

So, that's my cutie Aydan---eight years old now, but full of adult mannerisms and able to talk and make friends with anyone, no matter what their age. He is a smart, amazing boy, easy-going with a huge imagination and a great eye for style.

SCREEEEEEEECHHHHHH... (that is my sound affect for brakes)

Yep, you heard it right... We were in Panera's today eating lunch when he pointed out a girl at the next table. "She's got on a really pretty shirt." he said.

And then after a few moments, "I bet her bedroom is really put together nicely."

That's my boy.

Jane Eyre

I got really terrific news on Saturday.

I had interviewed to direct a show for a local theater, Theatre III in Acton, near to where I live. I was really excited to interview with them , as they have some notoriety in the Boston area and have won a few awards for their plays and musicals. I have been trying to break into this particular area for about 4 years and have always gotten shot down interview after interview, as the area seems to only use the same people and are a bit clique-ish.

But after meeting with several of the women on the theater board and talking with them about my experience, etc., I had felt that they were excited about using me.

Then I didn't hear anything...

For one week...

For two weeks...

At two and a half weeks, I sent a small e-mail reminding them that I was still looking forward to directing for them.

I didn't hear anything for another week...
At this point I had just figured that I had lost out again and all people were flakes to not at least reject me properly!

Then....I got an e-mail. They hadn't received any references from me and wondered if I could supply them with some. "Now?" I thought. "You wait for three and a half weeks and THEN you ask for references? " (Well, I guess that in this particular interview, I should have supplied them with references right away, and well...I guess I just forgot, so I found out from a mutual friend that knows the woman----they were concerned that I hadn't left any references. I guess that they thought that I had made my resume all up or something).

So last week I supplied references (which all the people I asked all sent me copies of what they sent her and were amazingly glowing, by the way, and two and three paragraphs apiece---I was surprised---I imagined something like, "Oh, yeah, Shawn? She is pretty good at directing and sometimes has her funny moments").

And then.............they e-mailed me on Saturday morning and asked me to direct the musical, "Jane Eyre" for the fall show. I thought about it for a moment, listened to the music a bit on line, and....well...I got pretty darn excited!!!

So, there you go, after four years of trying and never giving up, I have finally broken into the inner sanctum of the Acton theater scene.

People should know better than to think that I will give up , because I NEVER do, I just keep stepping back and try new ways to get what I want. And it almost always works...

I remember a time in junior high school when I decided to run for a class officer. I lost the first year that I ran, then lost the second year. Then, I went on to High School and ran again. My mom kept saying to me, "Why do you keep running for a class office, when you keep losing? Aren't you tired of trying?" I lost again that year. But I explained to her my plan. "Mom," I said, "Eventually they will get tired of me and vote for me!" So, in my sophomore year, I ran again, and I won---and won every year after that until I was the Student Council Secretary my senior year!

So, that is how I tackle every thing that I want.... well...except with the goal of being famous someday----I haven't been able to get a grasp on that one yet....

A Famous Movie Star?

Who is this movie star? I know that I have seen her somewhere before, but I can't put my finger on it...

She looks like a star from a bygone era when movies weren't just all computer generated and a girl could still get a break and make it big in the movies.

So mysterious, so fragile, so lovely...

Another New Blogger Is Born!

Ok, so I know that I don't get many comments, but PLEASE visit this site and leave a word or two.
It will make his day!

www.aydan-drart.blogspot.com

And for the record---he has been bugging me for WEEKS to have his own blog...
He's an amazing kid---check it out.