Every bit of this sounds so very, painfully and exhilaratingly familiar.

Except the problems in the marriage part. I just never ended up getting married, in large part because A. my dating options were limited to guys in my troupe, because they were the only people I had a chance to see and B. it was often difficult for them to understand why they would never be above priority #17 on my list (above paying my gas bill, but below feeding my cats).

That’s one of the repercussions I’m still dealing with, which include:
—Repairing credit severely damaged that resulted from putting a number of our business expenses on credit cards in my name (my credit was flawless before we started).
—Dealing with a federal lien that resulted from the corporation’s failure to pay city income taxes after I left. (It almost kept me from buying my house.)
—Getting my weight, health and self-esteem back to a healthy level (when you can only afford a few bucks a day for meals and spend 12+ hours a day at the theater, you don’t eat much healthy food—and when you gain 80 pounds, you can get to feeling pretty crappy about yourself).
— Playing catch-up in a career that I neglected then left to run a theater. I came back five years behind my peers.

On the plus side? Great memories, irreplaceable friendships, accomplishments I’m incredibly proud of, experiences I couldn’t get anywhere else and the knowledge that I followed my dream.

Would I do it again? In a heart beat. But I’d do it very, very differently.