I will have warm bodies!!

I am in technical rehearsals for a show I am directing. It is work for me-I teach theatre at a university, and have to do all the tech for my shows by myself.

For the first time, I have students lined up to help me build, paint, reorganize, and hang lights this weekend.

I cannot tell you how happy I am, and how much I was dreading this weekend. Now, I will still be tired, achy, and stupid, but perhaps not as bad as I might have been before. I was especially worried about hanging lights, since it takes a good bit of upper body strength to lift them.

I hope we will. After yesterday, I was so very close to crashing/flaring. I think if I get enough people, I can manage to hold off the flare a few days.

Today looks like painting, and that's easy enough to get people doing on their own. I made a to-do list last night before I left the theatre, to maximize the people I have showing up to work.

For me, it's really about pain management and energy management. I have had to learn over the past decade to prioritize and makes realistic choices, which of course comes from making poor choices a few too many times. I felt I had over-planned this show technically, and Hurricane Irene lost us a week of rehearsal. Also, I don't do this technical work well (at all), and though I know the theory... You ought to have seen me struggling with the screwdriver. I work on one thing at a time, and wait until the pain has subsided to start a new project a few days later.

Last night, I decided i just couldn't manage the circular saw by myself (never a good idea at any time), so was using a hammer to pull pieces off some lattice to break it down to size. Instead of using the power screwdriver, I connected it all with duct tape and fishing line. It looks AWFUL, but covered with paint and then vines/flowers, who can tell?

I guess that's my point. Know what you can do and make it work. Be creative in your thinking, and realistic in what you attempt. It's too easy to say "I can't". I am too stubborn to give up on things that matter to me, and while this may get me into health deep waters, ultimately it makes me feel better. Given enough painkillers.

All you can do is all you can do, and all you can do is enough.