A Little of This, A Little of That

I’m not sure where I left off… what was my last blog about? Let me go check…

Ah, yes way back when I wasn’t sure if Playa del Carmen was for me. Well, Playa didn’t seem to care if I was unsure and it swept me up in a whirlwind of kindergarten, contracts, productions, shows, and yoga. Alright, focus, where to begin?

Denya, my daughter, began kindergarten a week ago. My goodness, I have been literally beaten into a rigid routine of making lunches, cleaning out school bags, writing down homework and morning hairdos. All that and she’s in kinder 1 for three and four-year-olds. Here in Mexico it’s a law that children begin school at three. I thought it would be this casual coloring and playing atmosphere where she brings home pictures with ‘mommy I love you’ written on the bottom, reminiscing back to her daycare days. Oh no, this is serious stuff. The kids have homework every night and although it’s coloring and connect-the-dots it seems if I turn away for one moment she’s coloring the heart shape grey and the dolphin blue… And that would be okay with me except that the teachers ask me why she hasn’t followed the directions. I can imagine in their talks, “Do you think the mom is color blind? Doesn’t she know the sun is always yellow?” Yesterday we actually were given parent homework. I was told to put a protective, clear plastic sheet on the front of all five of Denya’s textbooks. The plastic comes in a roll so first I had to measure and cut it to fit the books, then it was a matter of sticking it onto the cover of the book. Seems easy enough but when air bubbles and creases come into play a simple task can become a work of extreme diligence and patience. Long after Denya had finished her homework I was still there slogging away at the book covers, seeking perfection.

Speaking of perfection, I had been so proud of how Denya had made it the whole week to school bathed, with clean uniform and even with her hair tied back. The wind was taken out of my sails today when the principal asked me into her office to explain that Denya’s hair needed to be tied back tighter and with more frills and clips. She also suggested that I bathe Denya in the morning so that she can be fresher. Fresher meaning cooler (it is pretty hot), or fresher meaning cleaner (it means both in Spanish)? I stared at her blankly and she continued to explain that the girls imagine they are little princesses and that Denya is having trouble adapting to her princess role. Perfume was even mentioned. I could only nod, unable to wrap myself around what was being said. I thought about it all day today. What do I have against princesses? Why shouldn’t Denya wear a pound of frills and bobbles in her hair? Why can’t their imaginary role be frogs or donkeys or something a little less pretentious? Why are three-year-olds being taught to look beautiful? I decided to just keep doing what I’m doing. If Denya wants to imagine she’s a princess she’ll just have to stretch her imagination past bobbles and perfume.

So while Denya and I are adapting to the school life, mama is also adapting to the freelance world of relative unemployment. Because it is low season here I was given a couple of months leave at my hotel yoga job until things pick up again. At first I was nervous I wouldn’t be able to make any money and since Pancho, my partner, has gone up to Canada for some more Circus training I am in charge of this household income. I was even considering applying for a real job!!! Possibly in an office!!! Just joking, the thought of working in an office in the Caribbean is enough to make me move. Office jobs are for chilly places where you can wear long, trendy overcoats in the snow and rain and high boots and fitted dress shirts during the short summers. This is the Caribbean, only suckers have office jobs here. Mind you, not that I’ve been living a very Caribbean lifestyle. I haven’t been to the beach in over a month. I guess the bonus about being in the Caribbean is that everything you do, you do it in a tank top. It’s that knowledge that the beach is right there, even if I don’t use it today.

Okay, I’m straying, back to the job, so I’m thinking about doing this and that and maybe the other thing and then I get in with some friends putting together some huge productions for Day of the Dead (Halloween performances) with some thirty Catrina costumes (see photo) and a full-fledged skeleton costume for a horse, an ecological turtle show with a giant, egg-laying, lit-up turtle mama that comes out of the Sea, and a New Years extravaganza with floating projections, synchronized swimming, boats with Venetian style chauffeurs, and aerial performers hanging from bridges. Yeah, wow, bring it on!

So I’m starting to help with these productions, which, after having built it up so grandly, I must admit that at the moment all I’m doing is making about 800 orange crepe paper flowers. Not exactly the excitement I laid out in the previous paragraph, but that’s what behind the scenes production is about - details baby, details.

Then I get a call to come and practice singing in a little band; then another call to help rent and take care of an apartment; then another call for a casting in a commercial; then another call for a light show on Fifth Avenue (Playa’s Fifth); then another call for a show in Sinaloa; before I know it I’m running around like a maniac and those days I remember not so long ago when I played solitaire on my iPod are long gone. Gratefully so I might add.

It’s beautiful. I make my own schedule and even though I’m busy, at any time I can take the afternoon off or go for breakfast with a friend. I’m a freelance everything, which is fine by me. I’m feeling like everything is going to work out and even though it’s low season, it doesn’t have to be low for me.

Oh yeah, and my yoga? There it is, constantly pulling me to the front of my mat. Okay, I lied earlier when I said I hadn’t been to the beach in over a month. I was on the beach in Tulum for a week taking an awesome yoga teacher training course with Sean and Karen Conley (Amazing Yoga, Pittsburg), but it wasn’t like I was swimming and sun tanning, I was sweating like a maniac doing ten hours a day of yoga training including two practices a day in a closed room to maintain heat. It was the greatest yoga experience of my life so far. I’ve heard that if you do something consistently for six months you can make it a lifelong habit. Well, my yoga has been with me now, although not always consistent, for at least 6 years. What does that make it? My healthiest habit. I would close with Namaste, but it just seems too out of place in a blog so instead I’ll just say – breathe and let it happen. See you next time.