The very brief entertainment career

My children enjoyed a very brief entertainment career. They were in and out faster than a lobster in hot water.

Jeff and I were introduced to the idea when a scout approached us at the mall and said, "Your daughters are beautiful. Have you considered getting them into modeling and acting?" After the second time in two weeks, we decided to explore the opportunity.

We took our children to acting lessons. We got them an agent. And we started going to auditions. While Jake and Maia had talent (several agents wanted to book them) they were completely uninterested in going to auditions. So, I focused on Lizzy. Lizzy got her first (and last) job as a model in the Hannah Anderson fall catalog.

Next, I took Hailey to a call back (the producers had seen her picture and liked her). But when I walked into the room, I was the only Caucasian person there and found out that they were actually looking for a black baby. They had thought from Hailey's picture that she was African American!

I was somewhat annoyed that the four-hour drive was totally wasted but decided to go up again for an audition for a Cheerios commercial. Lizzy, I thought, would be a good candidate. After all, she had enjoyed the Hannah Anderson photo shoot.

We walked into the waiting room, and Lizzy was excited. We practiced her lines, which she executed flawlessly. But when we walked into the audition room, Lizzy panicked. "This isn't the right room!" she said nervously. She hid behind my legs and refused to come out. The interviewer excused us, and we decided to try one more time. But she was stubborn--and by this time, she was having none of it. She put on her famous pout and stood like a marble statue while I tried everything I could think of to get her to perform. Threats ("I'll make you take a nap when we get home"), bribes ("I'll buy you a toy"), excitement ("Isn't this so fun!"), and even guilt ("Mommy drove all the way up here and will be so sad if you don't do this") were useless. In the end, I hung my head, defeated. And we drove home.

On the way home, I called the agent. "I'm sorry, we won't be able to do this, anymore," was my lame explanation. But as I finished the drive home, I started to feel a weight lift off my chest.

I had given the kids the opportunity to be part of the entertainment field, and they weren't interested. Done. I had found out that the kids weren't meant to be in the field. Done. And life had just become a lot simpler. Done.

Without Lizzy's stubbornness, I would still be trekking up to Los Angeles every week for another boring audition. I guess there are some benefits to her stubborn streak--given to her by both her mom and dad!