Oh, curveball.

It sure has been a while since you’ve shown your ugly face, hasn’t it? But, I guess it’s my mistake for allowing myself to be blissfully happy without waiting for the other shoe to drop. And while it dropped heavily this week and really threw me for an unexpected loop and caused me to spend an entire day eating nothing but cake (but, you know, that may have had something to do with that old bitty who starts with a P and ends in an S and has an M in the middle…). But, you know, I put my big girl panties on AND SOME PANTS TOO (shocking, I know!) and ran my favorite Stuart Smalley-ism in my head (you’re good enough, you’re smart enough, and doggone it, people like you) and realized, through the help of some truly amazing people, that I am going to kick this curveball in the nards.

And that really good things are on their way.

Little did I know that one of those really good things was going to come in the package of a phone call this evening.

“Hi, is this Ali? I’m calling from The Railway Children and we’d like for Miss Emily to come back down tomorrow for a callback.”

A callback.

A CALLBACK!

My little girl. The one with more determination and confidence and talent in her little finger than I have in my entire body. She walked into a giant convention center today – – – walked right past over 400 other children – – – and wowed the pants of everyone.

She may get the part. She may not get the part. We don’t even care at this point. I mean, don’t get me wrong….we will be over-the-moon if she does get it. But, she was just so gutted when she didn’t get a better part in Grease; so upset that parts were given out based on favorites and not actual merit. She knows now. She knows what she has really always known. This is a dream that she will make come true.

All she has to do is be herself.

Herself. The girl who doesn’t get intimidated by 400 other children with dreams. The girl who says, “Eh. I’m going to act like I’m the only one here.”

Her crazy, awesome, goofy, wonderful self.

My little girl who sat in the back of the car and told me something about my stupid curveball that will stick with me for the rest of the life. My little girl who made me forget about stupid curveball in my life right now.

“Mommy. It’s going to be okay. It’s going to be better than okay. Because you are the best person I know.”