I woke up this morning at 5:00 and asked Sal if it was August yet.
We’re seriously counting the days until we can be at something resembling a normal schedule. Disregarding the recent West Side Story madness that had Sal (and my car) in Davidson most evenings of the week, we’re both exhausted from ten months of him getting up for work before dawn to open the Starbucks store, and me often getting up to drive him there.
We’re very tired.
It’s been a neverending cycle since the beginning of 2009, with him rapid-fire moving from Living Out to Dangerous to The Full Monty and then West Side Story, he’s been in rehearsals and performances and we’ve spent more than half of our Charlotte nights apart. And because of his theatre schedule, the vast majority of his work shifts have been opening shifts at 5:15am, so he can be out of work in time for whatever theatre commitments he has that afternoon/evening.
Starting August 1st, he’s in a job that has a stable schedule, some (but not weekly) performances, and no pre-dawn work schedules. When he does have evening shows, they’ll be at Children’s Theatre just down the street and will be staged for very young audiences, so by default he won’t be racing to be home before midnight. When the company tours, they’ll likely be fairly brief and all in the Southeast, so he won’t be gone for long.
To say we’re relieved is an understatement.
It’s a lot to look forward to — we can get back to having dinner together at home, having movie nights with friends and neighbors, and even trying some new activities around town. I’m excited about going to the National Whitewater Center and getting an annual pass, so we can go rafting and kayaking and such. (No, really!)
Who would have thought that being an adult meant looking forward to having a simple, easy routine in your life?
Welcome to my world. A schedule is making my life more normal and I never really knew how much I needed that.