This We Believe
(2009-03-26)
Listen Now:
Special thanks to WGBH in Boston, MA for production assistance.
Special thanks to WGBH in Boston, MA for production assistance.
Poor little starlets indeed. Not for their current combined status of woe but for the somewhat obvious likelihood that these troubled girls have never done this. Really, a 45-minute wait for a 45-second ride? Standing eyebrow to eyebrow with sweaty strangers? Finding a public restroom in the nick of time? I'm thinking no.
As the hours ticked slowly by during our day of thrills I began to take notice that not once - not once! - did any of my four kids utter a word of complaint. Not about the unbearable heat and humidity. Not over the frustration of getting thisclose to being NEXT only to have a ride inexplicably shut down for the day. Not of leg pain or blisters from miles of walking, not about the obnoxious family of eight that cut the line, not about anything. At all. It made me realize how much character building went into that sticky, steamy day. And it made me wonder how very different the troubled starlets might be if they ever experienced the same mundane civility that my own kids practice while out in the real world each day of their lives.
Seeing the tragic and (yes, can't we just say it?) absurd occurrences of some tabloid treasures lately has made me grateful that the very ordinary way we live our lives has bestowed undeniable virtues upon my family.
Without the luxury of first class pampering, we drove to our happy destination. Sure it took three hours. Sure we bickered. Sure one kid got sick out the window right when we pulled into the parking lot. I might not have known it at the time but I do now: as we all worked pouring bottles of water over the messy car doors, we were building character. Together.
Maybe it would help if celebutantes did go to amusement parks. Better yet, perhaps they should spend some time speaking with a customer service representative about an incorrect charge on their billing statement. Without question, they should try their hands at waitressing (the North Shore of Long Island would be a good place to start). Life lessons abound everywhere we look. Maybe the parameters in which some people live need to be broadened to include the entire world, the good the bad and the extremely rude -- and not just a select few with mighty fine features.
My kids are still fairly young. Time will tell if they'll turn out to be superstars or celebrities but I have to say, I'm pretty okay with them if they don't. Still, should any of them awaken one day to the good fortune of hearing themselves on the radio or seeing their names in lights, I feel secure knowing they'll be alright. They've been taught well; their mother was once a waitress.
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