Yesterday it rained all afternoon so it was a good opportunity to get the kids together after school to have a little chat. We met at the cabin. Actually, I guess I was the last one to get there. When I arrived my husband was talking to the kids about what they wanted to be when they grow up. It’s something we do from time to time for fun and to get an idea of what the kids are interested in.
I was surprised at some of the answers. Before I go on let me say that a lot of our television viewing time is spent watching PBS. Our neighborhood kids aren’t nerds — if that is still the term used for those kids who keep their heads stuck in books. But, the adults in the neighborhood have made a concentrated effort to interest the kids in intelligent projects. Of course, they do all the things other kids do — two were grounded yesterday and couldn’t come to the get-together after school.
Anyway, my husband seemed to be chairing the “meeting.” He was asking some of the kids to name their role models, their favorite movie stars and so on. The idea was to discover why the kids were interested in the names they stated.
One 12-year old boy said that he wanted to grow up and be just like Alan Alda. As my husband pursued the Alan Alda phenomenon it was surprising to hear the kids talk about him. The pre-teen wanted to be able to travel all around the world and ask all the questions he wanted to ask of people who would probably know the answers.
Another 14-year old girl said she wanted to have Alan Alda’s job because she could go to the rain forest. And, a six-year old little girl just wanted to grow up and marry Alan Alda. Oh, well. Maybe I was 16 when I had that same dream — but it had nothing to do with Alda’s brain or intelligence.
So much time has passed since M.A.S.H. was a hit. The kids, especially the younger ones had no idea that Alan Alda was a movie star. To them he is the modern day “Mr. Wizard.”
As the kids chatted, one mother appeared in the doorway. We began whispering back and forth about the kids and their interests. She mentioned that her young teen daughter had a huge poster of Alan Alda on the wall. I laughed and said that I had once had a poster of him on my wall. In fact, I thought I knew where that old poster could be found. I sneaked off to the attic and sure enough, there among the Johnny Depp posters, Albert Einstein poster and others was the perfectly rolled up poster of Alan Alda — not as an intelligent being but as a “hunk.”
When I was young enough to paper my bedroom walls with posters I can remember my mom telling me that Alda’s hair was a little too shaggy. My, how times have changed!
Anyway, much like the kids today, I am thankful for Alan Alda — especially the posters — and for longevity. And, as Myra said when I showed off my poster, “See, you can be handsome and still have brains.” And, I must agree. I am thankful for a purposeful life and longevity. Mr. Alda has set a good example for our neighborhood kids.
{ 4 comments… read them below or add one }
Hi Maya…I’m a friend of Laury’s…you’ve probably seen my comments on her blog. I know I’ve seen yours. She mentioned you and your blog today in an email, and I decided to check your blog out. I LOVE it! I journal every morning and at the end of each entry, I try to come up with at least two things I’m grateful for. Some mornings it’s really hard, so I truly appreciate that you blog about gratitude on a regular basis; maybe you’ll be an inspiration to me! Anyway, I’ve added you to ‘my favorites’ and plan to check in regularly to see what you’re grateful for!
Evelyn,
As the saying goes, any friend of Laury’s is a friend of mine. Welcome to the Gratitude Journal.
You are right. Some days it seems hard to weed through life to find something that is worth mentioning. But, I have found that most often it is the smallest thing that brings me the most gratitude. Sometimes we just take so much for granted that sitting down with a journal forces us to take a deep breath and look at life and occasionally look for that rose we are supposed to stop and smell. And, some days I am just thankful that I made it through another day. But, there is always something to bring us a warm feeling of gratitude and a smile.
I do hope you will visit often and share your thoughts. The kids seem to be more interested in what Niels and Laury have to say than what I write about. I’m sure they will become attached to you, too.
Delighted to have you on board.
Maya
Dear Maya and Evelyn as well, I cannot refrain from making a comment when you tell that kids are interested in what I and Laury are writing, well, if we didn’t have this fantastic overalls community across continents, created by all of us, we would feel a little bit lost, right ? , at least I would, but now today I can see the life of my father, who was born 100 years ago TODAY, in a new perspective ! thanks to our world citizen group, that’s something I am really thankful for, since I have sort of felt lost of having any roots here in this world, but maybe the world is my place !
Niels,
I so appreciate your comment. As an only child who has lost both parents I can understand your feelings. However, I am so extremely grateful to have been told years ago when I learned that I was adopted (and emotionally disconnected), that I had the opportunity to select my family from the world. I guess I took that to heart. My adopted father was so wise.
Years later, while at an all too fancy — no overalls allowed — dinner in Alabama I was being shown around the snob’s home. We came to a mural of the family tree painted on the wall in the study. The gentleman was quick to point out his ancestors, depicted as apples with names painted on them, dangling from branches of the tree.
Of course for anyone from the south — help me here Laury — everyone knows we trace bloodlines of horses, hogs, and homo sapiens. And we do love to show them off as if it sets us a part. Anyway, when asked about my ancestors, I had nothing to share. I guess my family tree is a stump. So, I replied that “I am a child of the universe.” Guess you can’t be alone or lonely when the world is your family.
Niels, you are a part of my family and I am proud to call you “brother.”
Maya