Climbing with Miley

I've been in tears off and on all month long.  And I'm not sure why.  There's nothing enormously wrong with anything or with anyone, it's mostly just little interactions, summer camp preparations, alienating coworkers, encounters with rude strangers.  That kind of stuff.  There's been some good juicy reason to be upset almost every day, and the villains keep changing.  Good friends, mere acquaintances, perfect strangers. Every few days there's some major emotional hurdle for me--and usually I find myself wishing it wasn't happening.  If only this person were more sensitve/helpful/honest, you name it, I've wished it.

My daughters are fans of Hannah Montana/Miley Cyrus.  We have Hannah Montana bowls, sneakers, high-tops, lip balm, shoelaces.  I don't mind it, I think the show's cute.  I actually find the little moral dilemnas and tidy solutions helpful, something that must seem pitiful to all the hyper-worried pop-culture-despising parents out there.  But I just do.  

And we all really like Miley's new song The Climb.  

There's always gonna be another mountain/I'm always gonna wanna make it move.  

Describes my month pretty perfectly.  Then she goes on to talk about how life isn't about what's on the other side of the mountain, but rather, about the climb itself.  

The song actually lifts my spirits.  I have it running through my head pretty often these days.  I'm sure the seven and eight year old girls I teach wouldn't be able to guess that I'm getting so much out of a song they're pretty sure is meant for them.  And I'm sure that people on the subway would be surprised to know that that's what's coursing through the head of this middle-aged lady while she's reading her New Yorker magazine through her 99c store reading glasses.  But it is.

I get a good feeling thinking about this song.  I really do catch myself in the act of wishing away some annoyance, and then I stop and think of Miley Cyrus belting out that song and I realize I agree with her. How I behave in these low moments is more telling than how I behave when things are going smoothly. What I learn from those moments is much more powerful than what I learn from happiness and calm.  

But best of all, in a month that's been a roller coaster full of mountains--I've stopped beating myself up for the sheer fact that I'm letting things get to me, and I'm working on embracing all the craziness. After all, Miley's convinced me that that's what it's all about.  

An original post for nycmomsblog.com.  This mom's favorite things can be found at parentalapproval.blogspot.com.