BY LUCY PRITCHETT
FEBRUARY/MARCH 2010

A Pretend Pitch

Jessica Brooks and her children, Zakia and Savannah

PHOTO: MELISSA DONALD

If My Life Were a Sitcom

Dear TV Producer,

If my life was a television show it could never be shot as a drama because as a 33-year-old single mom with two kids, life can really be sort of funny — like a sitcom. I have written to give you an idea of what a day is like for my family. I have also included a photo so you can see that we are photogenic and how much we like to be in front of the camera.

Here is what life is like for us.

In the evening, we sit around the kitchen table. My son Zakia, 11, and my daughter Savannah, 10, have been to school, basketball, and gymnastics practices. They both attend St. Leonard. I have cooked a healthy dinner for us as I usually try to do. We don’t get fast food unless we are out shopping and stop for something. And even then Zakia likes sushi and Savannah likes the crab rangoons at a Chinese buffet.

Zakia wants to learn how to cook. “Anything,” he says. Savannah wants to learn how to make “alfredo with peppers, mushrooms, and chicken.” Maybe you could film them in the kitchen helping me. This could probably make for a funny scene.

Dinnertime is when I talk to the kids about their day, how they treated each other in school, and how they treated their classmates. Savannah will tell me how she wants to be a dentist, have 13 employees, and treat famous patients like R&B singer Brian McKnight. Zakia wants to be in the Marines and live in Japan or Hawaii or be a professional football player.

Zakia, who lives in the world of “what if,” will start asking questions such as, “What if the whole world were made up of trampolines?” What if the snow came up to my chest? How would I get around? What if there were dragons?” Although Savannah and I will usually play the game and try to come up with answers, sometimes we just have to roll our eyes.

Zakia is going to be in the school talent show. He is rehearsing to be Michael Jackson singing Billie Jean. He has just about mastered the moon walk.

All of the above could make for some funny situations. I know you have writers who can capture the humor with dialogue.

After dinner there are two hours of homework. The kids do have chores. Savannah helps with the vacuuming and cleans the sink and tub in the bathroom the two of them share. Zakia cleans the toilet, empties the dishwasher, and takes out the garbage.

To add to the melee, we have a chihuahua Papi, an orange cat named Milo who is twice as big as Papi and who picks on him, and a Beta fish named Shark Bait. She is purple, blue, and pink and belongs to Savannah.

By the time the kids are in bed, I can usually relax with a glass of wine. I reflect on my day which began at 5:30 this morning. I dropped off the kids at school a little before 8 and headed to my job at the Social Security office downtown.

I hope this will give you a bit of insight into their personalities
for casting.

The kids are really pretty well behaved. Like most siblings they do fight sometimes, especially when we are riding in the car. They both have a strong drive to do well. Zakia is more boisterous and Savannah is more even-tempered like me.

My hope for them is that they will finish their education and be able to stand on their own financially. I had to finish school while I was working full time. It wasn’t easy. And I learned from my surroundings growing up that you can’t depend on others to provide for you.

If I have any weakness as a parent, it is that I sometimes let them stretch me to the limit. I need for them to listen to me when I tell them to do something and to take me seriously.

My strength is that I hold it all together pretty well. The kids are not scared to talk to me and tell me things. But I definitely don’t subscribe to the theory that I should be their friend. I want to be a parent.

I guess that is about it. I have finished my wine and am ready to go to bed. Of course, both the dog and cat sleep with me which doesn’t always make for a restful night.

We have survived another day — with a laugh or two.

Respectfully,