There is an article from TIME magazine I have pinned up in my office. It's a Q&A with Jane Fonda, and it focuses on her recent book called "Prime Time." It's been up on my wall since the end of August, and I just glanced at it this morning. Funny how things you haven't looked at in awhile can sometimes be more relevant to you later on as opposed to when you first discovered them.
The first question in the Q&A is: "In your new book, Prime Time, about the joy of being old, you have a cute exchange with your daughter about making a movie of your life."
Her response was: "Cute? It was very painful. She said, "Why don't you just get a chameleon and let it crawl across the screen?" That was the rap on me–that I was only what the men in my life wanted me to be. Through most of my life, I have been defined by my parents and my husbands. But finally, having done what I call in my book a life review, I understand who I am. I'm a late bloomer to that, but since we live so much longer, it's a wonderful thing."
I understand this because it's me. I am a chameleon. I have been defined the same way and I am hoping I can get to that point she does... that understanding of who I am apart from all of the other people in my life I've loved. It's important. My mother said to me last night that this will help lead to a more full life. I couldn't tell if she was being sarcastic but my dad assured me she was not. In fact I think his exact words were, "Mom doesn't have a facetious bone in her body...and she's a tiny person so that's a tiny body." I rolled my eyes in only a way daughters do when their parents say something embarrassing. I think he's been reading Jack Handy quotes again. At any rate, I hope she's right...
No comments:
Post a Comment