Putting Myself in Time-out

Before I get into my post for this evening, I'd like to thank all of you who contributed to our Kickstarter campaign for "Not My Father's Son." Unfortunately, we didn't meet our goal of $55,000 so now we're moving on to Plan B ... we don't exactly know what Plan B is just yet, but we know we have a Plan B because we KNOW we WILL make this film. For those of you who haven't followed the campaign, we raised a little more than $20,000 in 35 days. But again, unfortunately, the way Kickstarter works is if you don't reach your goal amount, you get nothing. The second thing I need to let you know before I move on to my subject for tonight is that I'm exhausted ... physically, mentally and emotionally exhausted. While the last 35 days have been incredibly fun and rewarding on many levels, some of those days have been pretty stressful as well. But you know what? That's just the way life is ... some days are awesomely fun and you want to run dancing through the streets, and some days make you just want to crawl under a rock and hide. So having said thank you and informed you that I'm pooped, on to the heart of my post.

Last night when I was Skyping with my granddaughter, she had to spend a few minutes in time-out ... hard to believe she could ever misbehave, I know. But alas, she was playing a wee bit too rough with her dad and managed to conk him on the head with a bucket and plant her teeth pretty firmly on his arm. I'm relatively certain that both instances must have been accidental in nature ... she is perfect after all ... but her dad didn't exactly see it that way. I think that's the hardest part of being a grandparent, by the way ... hearing them wail and seeing them shed real tears when they get punished for their actions. But ... I know beyond the shadow of any doubt that Matt and Becca adore my precious granddaughter, and they are wonderful parents ... parents who love their daughter enough to teach her how to behave appropriately. What I'm sure was only a matter of minutes each time little miss C.J. got scooped up into Matt's arms and hauled into the house for time-out seemed like hours as I waited for her to return and continue Skyping with me.

This morning, Brad and I spent an hour or so with some amazing folks at a local radio station ... I'm sure many of you who live in the Kansas City area are familiar with Afentra, Danny and Mark from 96.5 The Buzz. We had participated in a phone interview with Afentra when we first launched our Kickstarter campaign, and she invited us to join her in the studio today in a final push to try to reach our goal. I had never met Afentra or her team in person, and to be honest, I was more than a little nervous as I paced in the lobby waiting for Brad to arrive. My fears were immediately put to rest when we walked into the studio ... Afentra greeted us with hugs, and Danny and Mark let us know right from the start that they are completely behind us all the way. At some point during the interview, Afentra commented that many people have become desensitized to the trademark signs and the vitriolic hatred that defines Westboro Baptist Church. I surprised myself when I spoke up and said that for me personally, each time I see the signs, the words emblazoned upon them cut me like a knife.

I've been pretty down in the dumps today ... okay, for the last couple of days ... and I decided on my way home from work this evening that I need to put myself in a time-out. I'm not putting myself in time-out because I've misbehaved, mind you ... though I'm abundantly aware there are many people who think my very existence is the very worst form of misbehaving ... but because ... well ... just because sometimes a gal just needs a short time-out from all the ... well ... suffice it to say that I'm putting myself in time-out for a few days. To those of you who worry when I don't blog ... please don't ... I just need to take a break and recharge my batteries.

You know ... both times last night when Coraline returned after her time-outs, she was smiling and happy. Even though she left in tears, she came back smiling. Sometimes, friends ... sometimes a time-out is just exactly what we need.