Read Grin and Bear It: How to Be Happy No Matter What Reality Throws Your Way for Free Online

surprise at the end. I knew she’d call me the next morning.
    When the phone rang early the next day, I was sure I was about to get my mother’s approval—it was a moment I’d been waiting for my entire life. “Jennifer, I saw your show,” she said. Here it comes … the moment I had been waiting for.
    “Did you like it Mom?”
    “It was horrible,” she said.
    My heart sank. I knew full well she wouldn’t approve of me rapping, dressed as a Brownie, gyrating my pelvis in front of three thousand strangers, but I held out hope that she might somehow come around. I asked her why she didn’t like the show.
    “Well, that man was on the whole time selling that cheap face cream, which looks like a terrible product. I guess you came out toward the end of the two-hour segment, but Jennifer, it didn’t even look like you. Did you straighten your hair and gain weight since the last time you came to Palm Springs? Your ankles looked less swollen, though, so that was good.”
    That ankle comment was my mom’s way of being supportive. I tried not to react.
    “Mom, what channel were you watching?”
    “Oh, I don’t remember. I think the peacock,” she said.
    “Didn’t you check TV Guide ? The show was probably preempted and replaced by infomercials because I wasn’t selling face cream. I was a rapping Brownie!”
    “Oh, Jennifer just get in something I can be proud of already! Nia Vardalos’s mom gets My Big Fat Greek Wedding and I’m stuck with a rapping Brownie.”
    You have to love my mother’s version of nurturing.
    With her approval ever-present in my mind, I actually thought The Wannabes might be something that would make my mom happy. As a way of hedging my bet, I put her in The Wannabes pilot. She did some great improvising, including my always asking her for money. To be fair, there wasn’t a lot of imagination needed as I was still asking my mom for money all the time—in fact, she called us the “Needabees.” Still, she helped make those exchanges feel just a little funnier and more authentic because of her no-holds-barred candor.
    The original concept for The Wannabes was about Chris and I doing odd jobs as we struggled for that big break. Enter Jeff Lewis. Jeff was a professional house flipper and real estate developer in Los Angeles, and he had hired Chris to be his house assistant long before we came up with the concept for our show. Then one day, I filled in for Chris because, naturally, he had an audition and I didn’t. Whenever Jeff spoke throughout the day, I took detailed notes so I wouldn’t forget to do anything he wanted me to do. Little did I know that perfectly executing the delivery of a honey-glazed ham would end up in a job offer: He wanted one for his grandmother, and he was over-the-moon thrilled when the ham had been delivered exactly to his specifications. I sealed the deal with a Post-it listing of who he needed to call over the weekend. He immediately offered me a job as his executive assistant, and I agreed to work for him on the condition that he would let me go on auditions whenever I needed to.
    Up until then, I had been waiting tables around L.A. and doing odd jobs, and I was completely over that lifestyle. A secure job with a steady paycheck would be a new experience. Besides, I thought, when I make my money acting, I’d like to know more about real estate because it could be a smart investment.
    Initially, Jeff was only supposed to have a small role—and even that was a tough sell to him. Convinced I needed him for authenticity and a little drama, I pleaded with Jeff to participate. Despite his consistent refusal, I gave it everything I had to wear him down and get him to say yes. Whenever we were driving around I would slip into our conversations:
    “You will earn extra money.”
    “You’ll be able to showcase your skills.”
    And I promised, “it wouldn’t take much of your time.” I was literally still begging the day before the shoot and he was still saying