And the award goes to...

I have a confession to make, for years I have had my acceptance speech ready for any chance that I may be able to publically thank those that mean the most to me. Since it is apparent that that I am not going to be up for any Grammy’s, Tony’s, or Oscar’s I thought I should ‘publish’ my acceptance speech.

Disclaimer: I have had to keep it as short as possible, so no exact names or situations are listed...if you'd like a shout out, let me know and I'll facebook you!  If they start playing 'the music' to get me off stage, I'm just gonna start screaming.

First of all I want to thank God for giving me this opportunity and for making it possible to recognize the people that my life has been blessed with.

Thanks to my mother for giving me a relationship that is the envy of everyone I know. You are always the 1st person I call any time life gives me lemonade or margaritas. Thank you for making the choices you did in life to give me every opportunity in the world. You truly are a wonderful person and the World’s Greatest Mother.

Dad thanks for loving me so much, it’s the one gift you gave me that I will always treasure. You have shown me that it takes more than blood to be father and daughter, how to make sacrifices for the ones you treasure, and how to live life with love and loyalty for your family. 

To my husband there are few people in this world that I can truly count on to have my back and I know that you will always be there holding up a shield, keeping me safe from harm. Thank you for always putting Cheetah and I first, for working so hard to make our dreams come true, and for loving without pretenses.

Dearest Cheetah oh how God blessed me with you.  I would have never known I could love someone as much as I love, you have helped me to grow into a mother I can be proud of.  You are so smart, loving, generous, and funny; you amaze me every day.  What a joy it is to watch you grow.

For my extended family (Aunts, Uncles, and Cousins) thank you for being part of my village and for all the love and support you have given me and my family over the years. Thank you for all the acts of sacrifice I am aware of and for the sacrifices I am not aware of. You’ve have truly helped shape me into the woman I am today.

My friends are my siblings and I thank God for the chance to add them to my family. Thank you for being Cheetah’s God parents, being his Aunts and Uncles and for being there when the chips are down and when times are good. We have all been through so much together and I love getting together with you all, sitting back reliving the good ole days and helping each other through the trials of today.

Too many roles to fill...

I am being haunted by a phrase: every time I hear it I feel my eyes rolling back in my head, my blood pressure hits the roof, and my voice goes up a few octaves.  We are all sitting in the living room attempting to watch one of many superhero shows only to be bombarded by the constant chorus of Cheetah blurting out, “I’m Ironman, I’m Green Lantern, I’m Batman, or I’m the dinosaur.  I am a firm believer in the suspension of belief and the importance the relatability of characters to the audience but this is ridiculous.  I am beginning to believe that due to all the role shifting he may be developing a personality disorder.  

When the tides change in the movie or when the hero is in the throes of battle his role will change.  One minute he’s the underdog and the next minute he’s the hero swooping in to save the day.  Out of habit he now has me imagining myself in every role on the tele.  One minute I’m Nora Walker and the next minute I am Veronica Mars; I have been having the strangest dreams full of all sorts of characters and constantly changing plot lines.  In the past few nights I have saved the world from a falling meteor, learned karate from Mr. Miyagi, helped solve crimes for my fellow high school students, and raised a family of five children in Pasadena.

To say the least I am exhausted, now I see why I had such a vivid imagination as a child…I wouldn’t be able to keep up as an adult.  Is it really that important to have the audience invested in each character?  Whatever happened to the real ‘stories’ of film and television?  I, for one am ready for a story or two that I couldn’t see myself playing the lead role…