Life with an Audience

The games I used to play as a child often involved some kind of audience (there were plenty that had nothing to do with anyone but myself as well). I lived in a neighborhood with many kids who were close in age to me . . . it was AWESOME! We had many times that we would all get together for night games or cops and robbers. Sometimes we would have wars with the Huffs and make homemade bombs to throw . . . what was THAT about?!

A group of us girls would often make up skits & then invite the neighborhood to watch them. (I have never wanted to be an actress . . . but I LOVED doing the skits!) While the audience waited for us to begin I would play a tape of me when I was two . . . because WHO doesn't want to listen to how cute I was?!

A number of times we would put on a beauty contest. I never won. I blame it all on my brother because he would never vote for me or it would be biased & he was 50% of the vote (the other 50% being his best friend/neighbor Karl Meuggler . . . I miss Karl even though he loved torturing me!). The contest was always done in the Payne's back yard because they had an awesome treehouse & a bridge that just shouted, "Parade over me!"

I loved to cook as a kid (still do). We had a peninsula in our kitchen and I would set it up like they do on tv and be the host of my own cooking show and tell everyone how to make my most fantastic cullinary creation. I think I will ALWAYS have a peninsula in my kitchen!

One time I had to do a little skit in Sacrament Meeting with my mom (I must have been about 7 or so because I don't think she was too sick yet). She pretended to pull a cookie sheet out of the oven and tell me not to touch it because it was hot. As soon as she turned her back guess what I did??? I pretended to burn my hand on the cookie sheet! We practiced it at home and used a flashlight for the microphone. It went off without a hitch and our ward had a large number of doctors who all came up to me for MONTHS afterwards pretending to check the burns on my hand.

Another time in that same ward I sang a solo in the Primary Program. Wow I was pretty impressed with myself . . . I thought Sis. Smith thought I was really something special to pick me out and that I must have an AWESOME voice! LOL

You would think that I wanted to be someone famous . . . like a singer or an actress or something. That has never been an ambition of mine! The thing that I wanted to be more than anything was a wife and mom. The wife part came early (side note . . . I just figured out that Scott and I have been an item for 20 years!). The mom part took some time with bumps along the way (you would never guess that part when you see the final picture with my 5 kids . . . yes I did say FINAL . . . I have multiplied and I have replenished with a spare for luck!).

Isn't it funny how I still do things with an audience?? I'm not sure when the last time is that I had an entire day where I never had an audience when I went to the bathroom (maybe 14 years?!) And I can't be the only one to be enjoying a scalding hot shower and have the door swung open as far as it will go followed by a two year old like she is announcing the arrival of her Majesty! As I watch said two year old she marches over to a certain drawer filled with powders, creams, gels & all of those wonderful things that define me as a female, and begins to apply them to her two year old self. She knows where each item goes. The lid comes off of the deodorant and she generously rubs her underarms. Some toner is opened and put onto a cotton ball and spread over her face, followed by some moisturizer. Just as she reaches for the make-up I decide that it is time to step in (because I have seen that applied before by the same said two year old!). I have concluded that I must OFTEN have an audience!!

Oprah is wrong . . . she does NOT have the best audience! I do.