cupcakes in manhattan
If you're one of those people who can't understand why people care when celebrities leave their homes and what they wear and which beaches they frequent, then you probably won't understand this. But I have a tiny obsession with Katie Holmes and Suri Cruise. It started because Katie was pregnant with Suri the same time I was pregnant with Jake. And I kept hearing about the expensive layettes Katie bought and the two thousand dollar bassinet she purchased twice for different parts of the house, etc., etc. Then not long after our babies were born, Tom and Katie got married, and I read of the designer gowns made just for little Suri and saw pictures of the castle they were married in. Around that time, I was holding Jake in my arms and looking out our big, sunshiny window onto the pretty street outside, and I asked him, "Would you be happier if your home were more like Suri's?"
He was way too young to answer me in words. But I've never been more sure of anything than I was of his response.
I still enjoy the pictures of Katie and Suri taking on Manhattan with Suri's adorable little dresses and Katie's cute mom-crop. I loved the one recently where they were sharing cupcakes, because I'd read of Katie's love for them long before Suri was born. I try not to think of their lives as better than mine - but just kind of parallel, with a lot more cameras around. It's been over a year since the last paparazzi shot of Jake and I - this one above while watching the homecoming parade in our small town. And I don't think it really counts as paparazzi when the guy gets you to sign a release afterwards. It's not exactly cupcakes in Manhattan, but it was our life, and we were totally starring in it.
Have you seen The Holiday? Because this is the perfect time for yet another life-altering movie quote:
Arthur: Iris, in the movies we have leading ladies and we have the best friend. You, I can tell, are a leading lady, but for some reason you are behaving like the best friend.
Iris: You're so right. You're supposed to be the leading lady of your own life, for God's sake!
I'm thinking all those great movie lines we quoted last week - if we apply them - can help us play the leading roles in our own lives. It's taken a while, but at this point I don't watch the celebrities because I wish I were them. I don't watch them for their clothes or their bags or their shoes or their shoe closets. I watch them because bits and pieces of their lives are just exactly like ours, and it's fun to see that celebrated and photographed and put in a shiny magazine. Did you see Brad and Angelina navigating the airport with six kids? The next time you walk out the mundane - imagine a photographer cares. It could totally elevate the experience for you - and remind you who's playing the lead.