"Everybody's special, Dash." (Mother)
"Which is another way of saying no one is." (Son)
These movie lines from Pixar's The Incredibles (2004) hit me hard this afternoon. Ten-year-old Dash begs his mother, Helen, for permission to use his incredible speed in school sports. He desperately wants to prove to the world that he is good at something-not just good, but excellent and in this case, incredible.
Middle school musical tryout results posted and I'm trying to console my daughter with the same words. "Everyone's special." "It doesn't matter which part you get, you are still wonderful." "The directors just haven't seen your full talent yet." But she gets it-just like Dash.
Through sobs and snot she cries...
All I've ever wanted is to NOT be in the "ensemble." Remember in the church Christmas program, year after year when I wanted to be Mary, the mother of Jesus? I mean, my name is even Mary, you would think I would get to do it at least one year. But no, I was part of the "ensemble."-I didn't even get to be a shepherd. Or the school play when I was in the "chorus." Or in our class read-aloud when I was part of the "crowd."
And my heart breaks. I've been there. We've all been there. Every now and then, the world reminds us, we are just normal. But we are not just normal, which is why it hurts so much.
