The Winter Garden Theater's sign on Broadway is written in bright twinkling lights. People hear "Broadway" and, rightfully so, they think, "wow!", "amazing!", "fun!", "exciting!" and it is all of those things! Rehearsals began July 3. Today we are exactly 2 months into this experience. 2 months!!??!! It feels like it has been forever! Opening night was only one month ago. And in one month, Cory has performed in 40 shows!
Side story: Every year for the last eight years we have vacationed with my entire family, at the end of August, to celebrate my Grandma Lila's birthday. This was her dream for her 80th, 8 years ago...to have her entire family together, surrounding her and enjoying each other's company. Her dream came true for her 80th, and then every year following. When I told people that I was going away with my entire family (17 of us) and we had every meal together and spent every waking hour together, some thought we were nuts and some were insanely jealous. Every year, the week of vacation was amazing. I can't say the vacation was always drama-free, but I can tell you that each of us counted down the days until the trip, and treasured each and every moment. For the last 4 years we spent our vacation in a huge house on the beach in Sandbridge, VA. We cooked together, drank together, laughed together and lived together for a week. WE NEVER LEFT THE HOUSE, except to go to the pool and the beach out our back sliding glass doors.
This past March, the unthinkable happened. My grandmother passed away. Unfortunately loss is something that my family has experienced too often. But we did exactly what we knew my Grandma would want, the trip went on! Two weeks ago, we all congregated in a beautiful home in Sandbridge, VA. My Grandma's void was palpable. On top of the paramount change we also added in the significant change that Cory, Grandma Lila's first Great Grandchild, was now performing on Broadway.
Cory hasn't yet accrued vacation and he is still acclimating to his new experience, so Josh and I made the difficult decision to split up. Josh stayed home with Cory and I took Ryan and Andrew, with the rest of the family, on our annual vacation.
I recognize this is a different energy then the rest of my blog posts, but this is reality. Broadway is exciting, but this experience is not without its sacrifices. Vacation was nice - but it was different for so many reasons. Cory and Josh did fine at home, but there were tears and heartache, in NY and in VA, as we were all missing out on what was happening hundreds of miles away in either direction.
Vacation ended, and it was back to reality. Just when we thought we were hitting a stride, things are about to change again. Starting this week, Josh and I have three kids, going to three different schools, on three different schedules. This is adding a level of complication to the schedule that I anticipated, but couldn't fully appreciate until we were in it. Well, WE'RE IN IT!
On Tuesday, Cory will begin attending Fusion Academy. He will be going three days each week, studying English, Math, Social Studies and Science in a 1:1 instruction environment. This is in addition to performing 8 shows per week and any additional rehearsals that my be scheduled. It is an incredible school and we feel so fortunate that Cory will have the opportunity to learn in this way! We are also anxious about how this addition to his already intense schedule will effect him. Time will tell. (Irony: Fusion Academy is just across the hall from the Westchester Jewish Council office, so Cory has lots of people local looking out for him!).
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| Everyone rooting for Cory at the Westchester Jewish Council |
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| Cory when we went to tour Fusion! |
Ryan is heading back to WARD Elementary for 2nd grade and Andrew, in two weeks, will be starting the 3s at Beth El Nursery School.
Even though we have been in this Broadway world for 2 months, it is still new. We are now adding even more new beginnings. And day by day we are figuring it out together.
We are continuously blessed and humbled by everyone who is sharing in our journey with us! So many have come to see Cory in SOR and others are on the calendar for the weeks to come. Even if you don't plan to see the show, your Facebook and Instagram support go a long way. Cory loves seeing the likes, shares, posts and support in the virtual world along with the cheering and smiling faces at the stage door! We are blessed, we are lucky, we are fortunate and we appreciate every moment.
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| Burton Family - STRONG! |
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| Gabriel, Cory's friend since they were 1 years old |
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Susan from Shake, Rattle and Roll,
the first music class Cory took (at 3 months old!) |
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| The Peisters keeping in cool with Cory Logan! |
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| Morah Dana, Cory's Nursery School Teacher, with her mom, my colleague Eilleen and Eileen's Mom |
