Hello and Happy Easter (or April Fool's Day if you don't celebrate Easter) my lovely readers đ°
So holidays are a big thing in my family. All of them. No matter how "small" the holiday is, I can probably think of a tradition or a specific memory from celebrating growing up. And luckily for me, I have a much younger brother which meant the holiday fun didn't stop when I grew up. So now I get to help make the holidays just as magical for him as they have been for me all these years.
I've come to find the hardest things about being a theatre artist- especially a young, freelancing theatre artist with no roots- is being away for the holidays.
Sure I got a taste of it in college. But I was only 2 and 1/2 hours away from home and never missed a Thanksgiving, a Christmas, an Easter, or a birthday. But now I'm in Sacramento and I considered myself lucky that I got to fly home for Christmas (when one of my roommates didn't even get that).
So I missed my first Thanksgiving. And today I'm missing my first Easter. This summer I will miss the first birthday of Owen's in his whole life (last year I was able to be there for his birthday party because of break between shows).
And it sucks- a lot.
So here are a few tips I've come across to help when you are away from home on the holidays:
Cry a little. You get five (maybe ten) minutes to cry/ be upset. It sucks being away from family, but I always try to remind myself how fortunate enough I am to have a loving family to miss.
Pick up the phone. The most beautiful thing about technology is the ability to pick up the phone and call or FaceTime your family and friends anytime you want. While I talk to my family almost daily (if not multiple times a day), I spend extra time on the phone on holidays because it makes me feel like I'm at least semi-there with them.
Continue traditions. This Thanksgiving was my first one away from home so I got up early, put on the parade, and made the French Toast Bake my mom makes every Thanksgiving/Christmas. I even made some vegan muffins for my roommate Kortney too. It wasn't quite the same as being home, but it definitely helped having a little piece of home with me on that day.
Treat yourself. Tonight after rehearsal I'm probably going to watch a movie and order some pizza. Not anything to fancy, but still recognizing it's not just another day of the week definitely helps.
Drink. Just being honest here friends. Mimosas make everything better. Just be sure to drink responsibly.
Enjoy what you are doing and the people around you. I'm enjoying some time to myself this morning, but I'm beyond excited to go to rehearsal later for Man of La Mancha. Just remember how lucky you are to be doing what you love with people who (hopefully) love it too. The people you are working with are also probably away from their families (even if it's just for those few hours of rehearsal) so enjoy each other's company and appreciate being together.
I hope this blog post helped anyone who may be missing their family today (or any other day). Sending all of you lots of love today and every day đ
Chelsea
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