I think I’m depressed. You know that feeling of pouring your complete heart, soul, body and mind into something for many months…

..and then it happens. Which means it’s over.

And then you wonder what to do with yourself the next day. And the next. And the next.

When all you want to do is rewind to the week before that big thing and do it ALL AGAIN because it was such a beautiful labor of love and you just want it all back and for it never to end and you try to figure out how to bottle up all of the people who have now forever changed your life and put them in your pocket and carry them around next to your heart forever. But you realize that you cannot physically do that. So instead you just walk around in a daze for a week and ponder the meaning of life and maybe drive by their houses and start stalking them on Facebook because you just really really want to hug them again, but can’t because – WEIRD – to let them know you are stalking them.

I so love my partners in crime - Heather, Vikki and Galit.

So you just have to slap yourself across the face and wake the eff up and get on with your life and realize that you do have them close to you – because they shared their words with YOU and 500+ others and you will forever have those words to remember them by. Those words of motherhood – the babies, the pets, the children, the mothers, the jobs, the teens, the college students, the silly things and the sad.

All of the words of motherhood that connect us.

I still cannot believe we did it – made Listen To Your Mother – Twin Cities happen. But it did. And it was more than we could have ever hoped – from the submissions, the auditions, the talented cast, the sponsors, the cause, the theater, the community, the audience, our families, and just everything. It was honestly near perfect. Which really scared the absolute shit out of me.

Our cast received a standing ovation and hoots and hollers and hundreds of hugs after the show. Their stories and words touched hundreds of hearts – from kids to moms to dads to loves and strangers.

Everyone listened.

Even my kids. My kids were there. I told them they didn’t have to come – it would be boring for them – listening to moms read for 90 minutes – just stay home and watch Good Luck Charlie.

But they came. I didn’t see them after the show. They rushed home to get to bed from a very late evening for them. When I got home at nearly 1am, I went into their rooms and kissed their foreheads and tucked them back in as I listened to their steady breathing. The next morning they could not stop talking about the show. The listened and they remembered every reader, every story, every name and every subject. They had favorites and questions and could not stop talking about how much they loved the show. For the next three days they kept referencing the program to try to learn more about our cast and they spent time on their individual blogs to see their kids and learn more about their stories.

And they told me that we did a good job.

And could not wait to see it again next year.

Next year. Which means I cannot sit around being depressed and doing nothing for much longer. Because next year is going to be epic.

Our LTYM - Twin Cities Cast and Crew - Photo Credit - Jennifer Liv Photography

Now go listen to your mother.

Thank you Twin Cities for being so damn adorable.

**Linking up with The Pleated Poppy for What I Wore Wednesday – I love my dress from Poppy Togs and Clogs -  one of our LTYM Twin Cities sponsors.