Don't even know where to begin on this one...but here goes...
This is not the first time the Schrader family has come up on this blog. I wrote another post about Jordan and Mrs. Schrader here.
I have actually known the Schraders since I was a kid...but I don't really remember that. My mom and Kathy were girl scout leaders together, but what that meant for me was that there was often a gaggle of leaders over at our house and I would go hang out in my room and read. :)
Jump ahead to my Summer Theatre Workshop days...
Amanda and Ryan, the two oldest kids, were in the first two shows I co-directed, "Cinderella" and "Bye, Bye Birdie." By the time "You're A Good Man, Charlie Brown" came around, the little one (who is not so little anymore) was old enough to audition. All three were truly talented for their age and they were fun to work with. We cast Jordan that year as our Sally Brown. It was a huge part for a little person who had never been on stage before. But luckily, Jordan IS Sally Brown and she was still young enough to not get nervous or self-concious. I love putting kids that age on stage because whether they do well or not is fairly irrelevant to them as long as you promise to get them ice cream after the show. They're too young to worry about what happens if they forget a line or miss a step and their world simply keeps turning regardless of what happens in the show. That lack of nerves and carefree spirit is what causes them to do so very well. Point being though, I could count on all three of those kids. They were sweet, did what they were supposed to, and I could trust them on stage.
That summer was a tough one though. There were a lot of challenges...some that I remember and some that I don't really. But most of the summer was really hard. And it was the presence of Mrs. Schrader during the day that held me together. It was her presence that calmed me down when I was stressed, that critiqued what needed critiqued and told me to let go of what I needed to let go of. It was Mrs. Schrader who I could throw projects to like figuring out how to make a kite fly on stage and know that it would get done well. I firmly believe that a successful show doesn't happen without the director(s) having at least one of these people and here's why...When you don't even have time to ask for help, they have things done for you before you even know you need them. They somehow show up on the days that you don't have time to call and say, "I need you here," because somehow they just know.
After that summer I was pretty much attached to that whole family. I adored the kids and missed them during the school year when I didn't get to see them as often. I so looked forward to the rare opportunities I had to spend time with them. The next summer we did "Peter Pan" and Amanda was our Wendy, Ryan was a pirate and Jordan was our Tiger Lily. And again, it was Mrs. Schrader that I could lean into every day, knowing that she was going to show up all the time. We had a great summer and by then our friendship had grown into one that wasn't based solely on the presence of Summer Theatre Workshop.
When I went to college we stayed in close contact and when I came home for the summer got to do the community theatre shows with the family, except Mr. Schrader because we haven't gotten him on stage yet. But I still think we should :).
After I had moved on from directing Summer Theatre, Amanda was one of the kids we chose to take over. For the first few years of college I stayed fairly involved, and Mrs. Schrader continued her role as a costumer. Some of my favorite memories were going over to their house to "help" with costumes (I can't sew) and us spending hours and hours up just talking while she actually did all the work. 3:00 in the morning conversations were not uncommon. And we talked about anything and everything. There was a lot going on in my life during that time and simply having someone not only listening, but really encouraging me to share was a tremendous blessing. She asked questions that broke down a lot of walls and moved me to a place of openness that I had avoided for a long time.
When my mom moved back to St. Louis, it was the Schraders who so graciously opened their house to me, letting me stay in their sweet little attic every time I went home. And it felt just that way...like home. Even with the psycho cat who slept on "my" bed and attacked me if I attempted to join her. It was people who knew me, kids who I was loving watch grow up, and two people who treated me like I belonged there.
Over the years our shared love of theatre and things like scrapbooking made for a lot of amazing and hilarious memories, most notably our 24 hour scrap session and a road trip to New York where I won two tickets to see Wicked in the front row and was SO thankful to have my girl Amanda there to see it with me.
As I sit and type I realize that I could go on and on...from fresh ink cards, to the long story that caused me to start calling Mrs. Schrader Betty, to my 21st birthday, to skipping out on Shipoopie during a few performances of "The Music Man," to squirrels, to their trips to St. Louis to see my shows, to a director's chair this summer for "The Wizard of Oz" and everything in between.
But I will wrap it up here, being most thankful for the families that you aren't born into, but for people who embrace and love you like you've been there all along.
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