Last winter I wrote step by step regarding survival of the holidays when our lives have endured out of the ordinary loss, or tragedies. I hope to write more often again this winter. I am a year further into my journey, and some things seem very different, while others stay the same.
However, for tonight, I am just going to write about Rudolph. Who among us between the ages of thirty and sixty don't consider Rudolph nearly as iconic as Santa himself?
While I am having fun, I can't help but wane philosophical over why this little vignette captures the hearts of everyone. I could talk about the writing courses I have taken and analyze this program...hhhhmmmmmm...let's see. Yes, it has a likable protagonist, it catches your interest with the first few lines of the story, it has interesting supporting characters, it has colorful scenes, and it has a definite story with climax and resolution. More recently, I have learned that the ongoing thread of every great story is that someone is trying to obtain something they desperately want. So the obvious is, of course,
I am not sure if families and children are still watching Rudolph. Maybe it's too silly or unsophisticated. I would wish that they might, and that we could all go back to basics for our children and teenagers. It is part of my new soap box to say that the stressors and expectations we put on our teenagers these days is completely unacceptable, and then we wonder why they are engaging in behaviors that are unacceptable.
To come full circle here, is the obvious I know, and I say it not because I think we don't all know it, rather to take a minute to have us all think about it again. At our core, we all want to be part of the community, we want people to like us, we want to feel secure and connected. The poor misfits in the Rudolph story were rescued in the end, and all lived happily ever after. Our misfits are not living happily ever after. Some of our teenagers are not finding their niches or their comfort zones. Not only do they feel rejected by their peers, they may feel they are disappointing the adults in their lives. At the worst end, they are being bullied.
The holidays are a time of sharing, caring, and love. Sounds so corny. Yet, if we could embrace that corniness, all of our lives would be enriched. Our children would be in less danger for sadness and bullying. And for those of us who carry memories which are bittersweet, we can use that warmth to take us through these next five weeks.
My husband and two sons always watched "Home Alone" together, and it was our tradition. I had seen it the first time at the show with Erik, and I always remember how we both laughed so hard that we cried. It was a big deal in the family...we had the CD...and Erik had a McCauley Caulkin shirt because he looked just like him. I still cannot watch "Home Alone" since Erik died. But I can watch Rudolph, so I will think about that.
To all my readers, we will begin this holiday season, and do our best. And when we're strong enough, we will promote the idea so sweetly given us by Rudolph, that we all simply want to be accepted and loved.
