Rated P for Parenthood

I got home from the blogger preview of the musical "Rated P for Parenthood" all abuzz.
"I want to take you to see it," I told DH (dear husband).
"Why," he asked suspiciously.  "Will this make me feel bad about my parenting?"

I laughed.  No, this was not like me leaving parenting how-to books strategically placed around the house with pages flagged for him to read.  In fact, all the characters in the show, moms and dads alike, are by turns confident, confused, protective, goofballs, lusty, sentimental, and imperfect, as they raise children from birth to college age, with hope and heart.

Rated P is directed by Jeremy Dobrish, who I went to high school with.

After the preview I found him in the crowd and was delighted to see he looks much the same as he did 25 years ago.  But how much has happened in our lives since!  We both have daughters, ages 10 and 5.  We're both in that sweet spot of parenthood, the balance point on the teeter totter, with a lot of small-child rearing behind us and the unknowns of adolescence and independence ahead.  In many ways I've not wanted this period to end.

But seeing the Rated P moms and dads sing, dance, cavort and joke about the messiness and joy of it all, I'm somehow encouraged and reassured that it could all turn out just fine. 

"You'll like it," I told DH.  "The writers have improv and sketch comedy backgrounds, so it's funny and uplifting, and hey, any show that has the line 'I didn't know old people sext' is guaranteed to be a good time." 

Rated P for Parenthood opens Wed, February 29 in NYC at the Westside Theater for an open-ended run  - book a sitter, and buy your tickets - DH is looking forward to his!