Things I have learned from living with my daughter... again

From just about the time Kelly could talk, she told us she was moving out the minute she turned 18. She said it more frequently the older she got. By 16, it was such a litany that I stopped hearing it. So imagine my chagrin when, at 18, she really moved out! She has been living more or less on her own ever since, with periodic significant others sharing space for variable periods of time. She and I had not shared space for any prolonged period of time until January of this year when she came to San Diego for a two week visit and kept getting cast in plays. It has been an education for me living with her for weeks at a time. Here are some of the things I have learned so far.

1. I am an inherently aggravating person. Most times, just the sight of me is aggravating.
2. No matter where I am, I am in the way. I am an in the way kind of person.
3. Everything is my fault, but it's not my fault it's my fault, that's just the way things are.
4. There is no way I can help with anything. It's my fault, I should just get out the way, I am being aggravating.

Living with an actor is a challenging thing. To quote a line from one of my favorite plays, "Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead" (Tom Stoppard): "Actors are the opposite of people", which, I guess by definition, makes people the opposite of actors. Actors are high-strung, sensitive, semi-hysterical creatures. People may live on the edge of hysteria. Actors build condos there.

Despite my shortcomings as a person, I think she kinda likes having me around. I kinda like being with Kelly, too. She really is a force of nature, and sees the world so differently than I do. We share some traits in common; we are both obsessive, though about different things; we are both funny, though in different ways; and we are both smart, which makes things fun. We stay up late nights she doesn't have rehearsals and just hang. It's really cool. If she wasn't my daughter, and there wasn't a 22 year age difference between us, we might have been destined to be friends. I am sure we must have been friends in our previous lives, because she really tolerates me rather well in this one.

Lovingly dedicated to my daughter, the actor. Break a leg.