I've never been one to brag about myself. For starters, it makes me really uncomfortable, and secondly, it's just not usually a nice thing to do. But today, just for a minute, I'm going to give my acceptance speech for my Best Actress in a Leading Role award, and I'm going to reveal a few more key players in the most amazing motion picture I've ever seen.
~~~~~~~~~
I can see it now - the huge crowd of elegantly dressed people, clapping and cheering, as I step forward to graciously grab hold of the reward that I wasn't even expecting to receive. I can't believe they have so much faith in me, as to bestow such a humbling award. Tears streaming, smiles beaming. It's been a long haul. Twelve long months that felt like thirty. There were days with so many tears that I almost had to call the flood insurance adjuster. We had intense moments of drama. We had scenes that revealed the most delicate and frail of human emotional states. There were hours of despair, but moments of hope. Days of defeat, yet minutes of gratefulness. Impressive special effects, astounding musical score, and many highly talented supporting actors rounded out the costly production. As the year wore on, the gratefulness began to increase which started the melting process of the massive, cold iceberg of hopelessness that had taken up residence in the story of our life.
The Leading Actress role was a difficult one. It was a part that I was cast in, before I really grasped the depth of the work that it would entail. It was exhausting, time consuming and often times very discouraging. Sometimes I wondered if the director and producer had made a huge mistake. I wasn't cut out for the roll at all, I believed. And to make matters worse, I had practiced the wrong part for so long, that learning this new one took long hours that brought on fatigue and lingering poor health. I got some help with my lines, after eventually conceding that I couldn't do it all on my own. Thankfully the help I got didn't do the work for me, they just helped me do the work I already knew I had to do in the first place. They repeated lines with me until I was almost sick of them, they encouraged a positive attitude, and they reminded me that the old role I had memorized really had no place in this brand new, extraordinarily beneficial production.
Not to be outdone, was the star actor in this performance, my dear, sweet, patient husband. Without his stellar acting skills, and his quick wit, the movie of our life would be dull and uninspiring. His role was a powerful one, led by the greatest director of all time. He rehearsed his lines and practiced his part each and every week. He was willing to be coached, and accepted constructive criticism with dignity. If his lines didn't come across right, or the part wasn't good enough, he'd try again and again until he got it just right. He rarely gave in to discouragement, and he never quit the job or ran away from the set, no matter how tempting it was, or how negative the feedback.
The best Animated Short Film award went to my youngest. He tends to have his own projects going on while the rest of us are focusing on something else. Always a burst of energy, and a tumble of intense emotion, is the boy who stars in his own show every single day of his life. He sees everything, he feels everything, and he tries to fix anything that is broken... including movie sets, props, or heartbroken actresses. His animation skills are full of exhilarating details, remarkable sound effects and warm emotion. We are awaiting the next film in the series of his life with much anticipation.
Costume Design goes to my older son. Never a day on the set goes by without seeing him in full costume. It can't be part of a costume, or a mix up of accessories, but the genuine thing. He energizes every scene with brilliant creativity, and visionary expression. Some scenes are difficult to outfit, so his mind is always working towards how he can invent something out of nothing to make it fit.
With an overwhelming majority of the votes, my younger daughter gets the award for Best Makeup. She colors her life with every flavor of the rainbow, on any given day. Nothing ever looks out of place or mismatched, even though you would have never thought those things would go together in your mind. She makes it work, and she hones her skills every day. She never settles on good, when it can always be better. When she has little, she makes it look like a lot. With narrow financing, she has continued to created beautiful expressions from a very limited palette.
The Best Music (Original Score) was earned by a very deserving High School Sophomore girl. Far ahead of her peers, and in a male-dominated category, she has persevered to prove that she is serious about what she does, and that music really makes the magic happen. Without her music in the story of our life, we would have been singing a much different tune. Sometimes the music is dark and mysterious, then soulful and blue. Other times it is calming and peaceful. But, the scenes where the music is bright and full of zest and energy are the best, and most appealing of them all.
Overall, I know we couldn't have finished this year in the Story of our Life without the input and hard work from each and every one of our team. Even more to be commended, are the supporting members of the cast who kept us afloat when we felt like sinking. They brought us back to earth when we were acting like big-headed fools or focusing on our own needs, instead of the needs of the rest of the players. The Director of our life is to be given the ultimate award. It was He who led us through scenes that were frightening, and down paths that had poor lighting. His calm words, and reassurances were enough each and every time to complete the daily work we needed to get through.
Our script was painstakingly penned by the most brilliant of writers, and was completely full of twists and turns. There was humor and happiness, sadness and grief. We endured through the high moments of elation, and the low moments of near death. Fits of rage and scenes of passion were followed by more action, drama, romance and comedy than I have ever experienced in my entire acting career. I feel so honored to have been cast in this role, and I will forever be grateful for the experience. I have learned so much, and grown immensely in my abilities. I feel more qualified, less fearful and my stage fright has all but disappeared.
I'd really like to take this moment to thank the Academy... and by the way, how is the picture of YOUR life looking right now?
