Listen to Your Mother gave voice to our own tales
of living in the trenches, of personal details
of hopes, and of laughs and of sad separation
We wanted to share, and we felt the elation.
Our stories of mothering, we wrote every word
Finally, we felt that our voices were heard
The gang cast in New York’s show, we met and it was fate
We focused on May 6th as our special due date.
“Giving motherhood a microphone“, Ann Imig‘s plan was genius
The show felt more Vagina Monologues than Puppetry of the Penis.
Our producer Varda Steinhardt, a squashed mom yes she is
Knew how to bring out the best of us in this business of show biz
And director, Amy Wilson a fine actress and a writer
Worked with us on nuances to get our pieces tighter
Associate Producer Holly Rosen Fink, brought sponsors in galore
With Betsy Cadel joining, support was even more.
10 LTYM cites throughout the states joined our celebration
Sponsors like Fresh Direct, BlogHer and Snapfish spanned across the nation
Local businesses like The Motherhood, Museum of Motherhood, Mind Over Matter Health & Fitness and much more
Craved connections to our show at the JCC; they knew we had the floor!
Last Sunday it was show time, now there was no denying
Before our tech rehearsal I admit I did some crying
So I pulled up my bootstraps and gave them a sharp tug
I recovered in the green room where emcee Rene Syler, gave me a hug
The next day she placed my own Life Lessons on her site
Where I revealed my long-held dream to help mothers day and night.
First Patty Chang Anker told of her daughter’s sweet cookie jar story
I looked up at the audience; they saw her in her glory
Next, Howard Margulies, reminisced about his cha-chaing mom Charlene
His delivery was flawless, he really set a scene
Kathy Curto spoke of her late mom’s delicious dishes
The flavors she described, gave the audience food wishes
Ilana Wiles was up next, and her tale rang so true
When a baby takes over, you lose so much of you
Then it was my turn and I took a chance
and spoke of my sweet Crystal and her little dance
Photo: Jennifer Lee Photography
Alysia Reiner and Abby Sher spoke of a small affair; I admit that it was bracing
I enjoyed their performance, and finally, my pulse stopped its racing
Una LaMarche doesn’t like cargo shorts, of that there is no doubt
Her funny warning message to her baby son said what life was all about
Kate Mayer talked about the impact of her daughter leaving home
It’s hard to let a child go, even if college is where she’ll roam
Then Deborah Goldstein joked about the reality of kids puking
Her partner laughed out loud, but nobody was duking
Kirsten Piccini hails from PA, and we all signed her shoe
Her boys may take the spotlight, but Kirsten shimmers, too
Producer Varda Steinhardt, spoke about how her mom is aging
As time marches on, she showed us all that there’s no point in raging
Director, Amy Wilson relayed her son’s medical woes
She said it real; you felt her pain right down to your toes.
Cynthia Bastidas was the opposite of remorse
She made a life decision, and had to stay the course
Eve Lederman is as different from her mother as she could dare
We laughed as we heard her urgent need for that shower chair.
Then, at the end of our show, Jonny Schremmer covered all the bases
And now everybody knows it’s cause that lady’s Aces!
And then the crowd applauded, we basked in admiration
We barely noticed residues of the day’s perspiration
As our producers gave a check to Room to Grow we all felt so proud
Babies raised in poverty were helped cause we spoke out loud
Time to get our accolades, and yes, there were a lot
Our cast party at Tolani had friends and family filling every spot.
We had to end the evening, and we felt it rushed too soon
So we’re planning for a reunion party as early as this June!
Thanks to the Mother of Listen to Your Mother, Ann Imig, our production/directing team, our dynamic emcee and the fantastic cast for a life-changing experience as part of this cultural phenomenon; I will follow your careers with anticipation of more great success; and can’t wait to see you all again.
To my husband Werner, Mom (Miriam), Dad,(Jerome), and my friends Laura, Josephine, Linda, Sheetal, Munira, Katja, Sharon, Randy, and Melissa it means so much to me that you were at the JCC that day to support me in this celebration of motherhood. I’ll never forget it.
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Finally read this!!! FANTASTIC. Thank you for everything Estelle .It’s been a joy to meet you and listen.
Thanks so much Ann. It was an honor to be in the show and to meet you. Hope to see you at BlogHer this year!
Amazing stuff, truly impressive what you’re doing Estelle. We feel fortunate to be a part of it
Hi Josh,
So glad that Mind Over Matter Health & Fitness was involved in LTYM. What a perfect match! Thanks for your friendship and support. I’m so impressed by your many endeavors and wonderful coverage in the press and on TV and radio.
Estelle
What a fabulous group of woman! I was inspired, moved and motivated! It was a privilege to spend some time with the cast of Listen to Your Mother.
Estelle, thank you for all your talent, time and inviting me to this performance.
I also appreciate that you listed all the ladies (and gentleman) so that I can remember their pieces and reference their websites as well.
Hi Linda,
Thank you so much for your friendship, support, and for sharing how much the experience of watching LTYM moved you. I think every mother needs to give the experience as a gift to themselves and people they care about. Please do check out all the blogs of the people I listed and subscribe to their posts. I feel fortunate to have been with such an enormously gifted cast in NYC.
Estelle
I am in awe. It has to be said.
When I try to rhyme, my mind fills with dread.
You are clearly the master, rhyming words on the page.
And you blew us away with your presence on stage.
So happy to know you and share in your glory
of a job well done telling our motherhood stories.
Deborah,
Wow! Thanks so much for the poetic tribute!! Well done!! Can’t wait to connect again!
Ellenstar is me, by the way.
Estelle
I was waiting to comment til I could respond in rhyme, and then I realized I am NOWHERE NEAR AS AMAZING AS YOU, Estelle Sobel Erasmus! You Rock! I love you in so many ways, it would require all the verses of a sonnet. Note to self: Hire a poet to write a sonnet. Biggest hugs, P
Hi my sweet Patty,
The feeling is entirely mutual. I must write a post about our show day, how you shared your powder (Your. Powder!) with me; and helped me to shine (or not, shine, hahaha); and our little meditation ritual. If I had known you did yoga (which I should have known) we could have done a downward dog (or something). Love you! Lunch. Soon!
This is FANTASTIC!!!! WOW, Estelle I am so impressed and honored and happy that we met. Truly.
thank you for doing this for all of us and for being YOU…cause it’s awesome.
xo
Miss Kir Corner,
Thank you so much for commenting on my blog. It is wonderful to read and learn more about you through your blog. Despite (or perhaps) what you have gone through you definitely live on the sunny side of the street! And you glisten; you golden girl you! Kisses!!
you are so sweet, I’m not sure I’m nice enough to be your friend! Thanks for sharing your voice!
Kathy,
You are definitely nice enough to be my friend! I loved your story about taking your daughter to college. It made me and my husband project years into the future, and brought me an early sense of the melancholy I know I’ll feel based on your vivid portrayal. I’m so glad I got to share this experience with you and hope to get to know you better.
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You captured the day so eloquently and in a rap! Very impressive and I can’t wait to see all the things you do next, my friend.
Thanks so much Holly! I was so honored to meet you and become friends through this experience. Everyone’s stories are so important and I hope I did them justice!