November should be known for TWO holidays. The official one - Thanksgiving. The Unofficial one - Black Friday. And the day after Black Friday is a pretty big day too. Usually I avoid all malls during this time. The pushing. The shoving. The crowds. I just can’t hang. A guy could get hurt, ya know?!?!

However, a certain three year old asked her Daddy if I could take her to the play area in the mall. I may ask tough questions and report before thousands of people, but there are times I don’t stand a chance with my daughter. It’s just so hard to say no sometimes. So, off we went.

I knew I’d be in for a long day the second I hit the parking lot. It was jammed. I waited, maneuvered and then, with a quickness that would have made Helio proud, EVENTUALLY zoomed into a space… SEVERAL yards away!!

Enter the mall. Wow!! I mean, the people were everywhere. Thankfully my daughter’s primary goal was to get to the play area. That was crowded too. My wife and I are going through the process of teaching our daughter to share. Imagine what that’s like in an area FULL of 2 to 7 year olds. “I was here first.” “No, I was.” “He’s pushing me.” “She’s pushing me.” Back and forth and on and on. 90 mintes of watching and refereeing, and I was the one who was exhauseted.

Were we done? Of course not. We worked our way through the mall to get a cookie and shop (just a little ’cause a little is all the energy I had left). Some of the lines were ridiculous. By the time we left, I had never been so happy to see the outside of a mall in many, many years.

I think next year I’ll do my Christmas shopping a littler earlier, like January. I can take Kennedy to another place to play and stay away from the malls, for the most part, during the holiday season.

Oh, who am I kidding. I’ll be back.

I don’t think I have wrapped my mind around Friday night just yet.

To co-host the televised portion of the Circle of Lights was a huge enough responsibility and privilege.  A major television and stage production, meticulously planned, and revered by the community - no small task to tackle.

To sing in something this huge was a whole different ballgame.

And to do both - whoaaa.

It’s not like I’m scared to death to sing in front of people - I’ve done quite a lot of singing - but a lot of it has been either “in character” as part of a musical theatre performance, or in a larger choir group.

I also know that while I enjoy singing and am not terrible at it, I am no Faith Hill, Barbara Streisand, Celine Dion, or Sandi Patty for that matter. Especially when it’s freezing cold and I’ve been going 100 directions all week!

I gave myself a pep talk before getting up there on stage:  “People here are in a good mood, it’s more about the holiday spirit than how perfect my singing is - just smile, look to all your friends and family in the front row,  know that most people in the crowd aren’t here to critique like Simon Cowell - just get over the nerves and ENJOY this unbelievable Christmas moment!”

       SO  - I did. 

And you know what - I was right.  It wasn’t perfect. Far from it.  I cringed as I watched the tape -  yep, there was that phrase where I pushed too hard.. that one note where I slipped off the pitch a bit when I ran out of breath (I could SEE my breath so it was easy to tell when it was running out.) 

   As much painstaking rehearsing as I’d done, there’s nothing like singing in that environment, with the sound booming all over the place, and more faces than you can ever dream of counting staring up at you.

    But - I’m still proud. Proud that I kept a smile on my face instead of falling flat on my face -  that I didn’t forget any words and horrify the show’s organizers and my coworkers -  and that I kept it all in perspective - it’s about the SPIRIT - not the perfection, right?

A few dozen people, co-workers, friends, and total strangers called and emailed to say nice things about the performance. Really sweet, encouraging, thoughtful comments.

Only one wrote a Grinchy, grouchy note pointing out my vocal flaws.

For that one person, and for everyone else, I have the same response:

Merry Christmas, and may the joy of the season fill your heart!

 Trish

Today I became an auntie - again!

My brother Kevin and his wife Kim weclomed their first child, Anna, into the world early this morning!

I can see from the photos that she looks a lot like my kids did on their “birth” days…  (I’ll post them in my photo gallery, and if I can figure it out I’ll try to stick a photo into this blog entry later)

Can’t wait to see her in person.

Congrats on becoming parents, Kev and Kim!  You’ll be amazing!

What an unforgettable Thanksgiving this will be for our family.

Trish

First - THANKS to all of you who watched last night and wrote in your own amazing stories.  It means a lot to me that you’re willing to share a slice of your life.

 Second - for those of you intersted in Beauticontrol after seeing Melissa Burrous’s story, I want to refer you straight to her:     www.beautipage.com/mburrous .  She can tell you more about her business, or help you arrange a spa night at your home (goodness knows I need one desperately!)

Third:  Please watch part two of my Perfect Balance piece tonight at 7pm and send me your tips and ideas!

   I need them.

 I’m so busy right now I can’t see straight - if anyone needs help with balance this week, it’s yours truly! Between kid duties, a traveling husband, my special reports, radio interviews, the Circle of Lights performance, Thanksgiving, and a million little nagging errands and phone calls, I can’t seem to get a grip!

      Tomorrow I have to figure out how to get to the ER to have Clara’s staples removed for her little head (see previous entry!), sneak in a radio interview, entertain my 5-year-old who’ll be home from pre-school, prepare lunch and dinner, and get myself ready for work, all before 2pm. I’m also hoping to make a quick trip home between evening newscasts to read their bedtime stories and tuck them into bed, before re-assembling my hair-do and getting back on the news desk.   Not easy - but so worth it.

     Smile - and enjoy your day!

Trisha

    I hope some of you will get a smile and maybe an idea or two out of my special report.  The topic of parenting is endless, and I realize this is only one small trend among an infinite number of ways people today are trying to find balance.  

     The idea of the “in-between mom” - who’s acting in many ways like a stay-at-home mom, yet finding ways to keep a career and income going - has fascinated me for quite some time.  60-percent of moms today say they WANT part-time-work, ideally.  But most moms who work, do it more-or-less full time, because they need the pay or benefits, or can’t find something in their field that they can do on shorter or more flexible hours.

   And dads - please don’t think I don’t realize that many of you are also doing backbends to take care of your families along with your careers.  This piece is focused mainly on moms because the topic is part-time schedules, and research shows women are much more likely to see part-time work.

       I always love seeing how other working parents juggle their schedules.  If you have a unique job-situation that’s working well for you - or if you want to vent about why yours leaves you feeling OUT of balance -here’s your chance!! I welcome any and all comments.