Bring the Family

“Work Hard and Be Kind”

Posted by Toni | Filed under Parenting

By now everyone has heard or read about the controversy over The Tonight Show on NBC: seven months into a failed experiment with an hour-long, prime time Jay Leno Show, the network decided to return Leno to his hosting duties at The Tonight Show. The only problem with this plan was that the network had already handed the Tonight Show reins to Conan O’Brien. The decision to replace O’Brien with Leno upset O’Brien’s fans and caused a stir in the television industry (where critics and writers largely disagreed with the Leno Show experiment from the start).

Whether you’re a fan of the former-and-once-again host Leno or “Coco,” (full disclosure: I’m with Conan), O’Brien’s final monologue at the end of his run as host of “The Tonight Show” really struck a chord with me:

To all the people watching, I can never thank you enough for your kindness to me and I’ll think about it for the rest of my life,” O’Brien said. “All I ask of you is one thing: please don’t be cynical. I hate cynicism — it’s my least favorite quality and it doesn’t lead anywhere. Nobody in life gets exactly what they thought they were going to get. But if you work really hard and you’re kind, amazing things will happen.

I wasn’t the only one inspired by O’Brien’s speech: here’s a link to a poster designed by my friend, author Terry Bain that I’m planning on purchasing for the kids’ art room. Note the red hair under that crown; how funny is that?

I remember during my first week in law school, a student raised his hand and told the professor that a legal judgment in a case we’d studied wasn’t fair. The first-year student’s protestations pooled like blood in the water as our prof waited, grinning and eager to feed. “Fair? Fair!? Who said life–let alone the law–are fair?” We all remembered not to comment on fairness for the duration, but of course, we also knew in some ways, the professor was right–we each deal with unfairness in our lives and in the world daily. I’m a bit more gentle when I tell my kids that sometimes, as Conan O’Brien learned, life is unfair (though a $45 million buyout should dampen his disappointment–I know it would mine). But what I stress is that while it’s important to notice and speak out when we witness an injustice, the ways in which we respond to unfairness makes all the difference in our lives. And I think Conan took the high road in many ways in this situation, and that’s a model I can get behind, both as a parent and a person.

In other news, tomorrow is a big deal in my town, where the movie Groundhog Day was filmed (it was set in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania but filmed here in Woodstock, Illinois). We have our own prognostication set for 7:07 a.m. tomorrow, and my sleepy kids and I (camera in hand) will be there. What I love about our prognostication is that afterward, the handler lets kids touch the groundhog’s fur and pose for photos. Another recent controversy in the media involves an animal rights group advocating for a robotic groundhog in place of a live animal. My take on this is that any event where animals are treated humanely and allows children to get an up-close-and-personal look at wild creatures they don’t normally see is a good idea and actually promotes a love of and respect for animals. Another interesting talking point with the kids, for sure.

I’ll leave you with a video clip the boys ask me to play about once a month because it makes them laugh (especially when they see “Go Cubs!” aka Wrigley Field, and the doll museum): Conan’s debut as host of The Tonight Show. I love this because it makes me want to wander, if not necessarily by running across the country (I’ll bicycle instead, thanks).

Look for Groundhog Day photos later this week if the weather cooperates and gives us good lighting.

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