Under Fire

Things are getting real. It’s been such an eventful month.

In addition to lining up loads of media interviews for the book, hangin’ with my boys at the beach, and all the other things that go on when your children are off for summer vacation, the Vegas house is getting built well ahead of schedule. While unheard of in California, it looks like my Nevada home will be finished about two months earlier than expected.

The drywall went up, the outside has stucco, windows are installed, baseboards are nailed in, and paint has been applied on the interior and exterior walls. Cabinets are even in place now, throughout the house. Take a look:

Paperwork is being rushed. Timelines are shifting. I momentarily lost sight of how incredibly exciting all of this is and began freaking out about how I was going to get everything finished on my end in time, move boxes in the dead of a desert summer, and how in the heck I was going to furnish and landscape the biggest chunk of space I’ve ever owned.

Just as I was getting my mind around the house being done early, one of my older brothers called with a major life reality check. He took his little Puggle, Sasha, for a walk outside his home in West Hollywood and saw a twenty-something guy sitting on the curb, dressed in baggie jeans and white athletic shoes. Two police cars screeched to a stop in front of the guy and four armed officers jumped out, guns pointed. They told him to freeze and the guy stood up and charged. All four officers fired multiple shots. They guy went down.

Blood pooled in the street. My brother saw a knife on the ground near the guy’s body. An ambulance came and put him on a stretcher, a sheet covering most of his body. My brother watched the guy’s feet twitching in his athletic shoes as they carted him way. Thank goodness he hadn’t taken his three-year-old daughter with him on the walk. My brother and I talked about whether or not the LAPD over-reacted, ways they could have handled things differently, and how quickly life can turn in an instant.

My brother’s story underlined the importance of three universal truths: Life can change in the span of a dog walk. People are crazy. Appreciate who and what you have…while you have it.

My house will be finished by the end of summer. Forget lush landscaping and rooms full of new furniture, I’m going to do my very best to fill this home to the brim with love, music, children, family, and all the things that matter most.