Sometimes you got to have a life

I got an audition for today for a guest spot on a US series that shoots here.  Great!

Then I checked the breakdown and noticed that a vacation I'd booked to visit my family fell right in the middle of the outside dates of the shoot.  (Outside dates are the start and end date for the shoot.)  The part involved 1 scene - a nice scene - so it was worth going for - but would I get boned or bone the production if the shoot date coincided with my vacation?

So I checked with my agent's assistant who checked with the AD on the production who told her that the shoot for that scene was scheduled for 1 of 2 days that fell on my vacation.  Would I consider cutting short my trip in order to do the role?

Ah....

This is the existential dilemma actors always face.  In a world where work is not guaranteed, (I haven't had an audition for a while so why does one have to fall on a vacation day??), do you take the work and postpone your life?

Everyone has to make their own decision but for me, I always choose to have a life.  Seeing family is more important to me than a day's work.  But it's not the right choice for everyone.  It's just my choice.