I’ve always thought of the start of a new school year as the real New Year. I love going back to school—the new schedule, the new opportunities, the new school supplies…Ah! School supplies. So that makes me definitely a geek, yes. But it also makes me start thinking of fresh starts and resolutions at this time of year.
And…..drumroll, please….for
the start of the 2013 school year, I resolve to be more like Gru.
(If you haven’t seen Despicable
Me or Despicable Me 2, this post
may lose something in translation, but I’ll try to convey why I like the guy so
darn much.)
He's Honest:
When Gru’s in a good mood, he’s in a good mood. When he’s not, he’s not. Okay,
he uses a weensy bit of sarcasm with co-workers and sometimes a touch of
misdirection to dodge matchmaking neighbors, but, as a whole, he tells it like
it is.
When everyone hates the jelly he manufactures, he admits it.
But he looks on the bright side, too. “Just because everyone hates it doesn’t
mean it’s not good.”
I think he really had me when he read the girls The Three Little Kittens for the first
time and said, “Wow. This is garbage.” That’s honesty in parenting for you!
Of course, he also confesses that giving the girls back to
the orphanage was “the worst mistake of my life.” And that’s the honesty that I aspire to as parent—letting your kids
know that you messed up, majorly.
He Has Boundaries:
Gru knows what he will and won’t do; he has good boundaries and no qualms about
maintaining them.
I love, love, love the part where he sprays his interfering
neighbor with the hose. “Oh, I’m sorry I didn’t see you there.” He does it
again. “Or there.”
It’s hard to put his into words, but there’s no burden to his choices. He has a lovely,
free sense of “okay, you do what you need to do, but this is what I’m going to
do.” It sounds so simple when I put it that way, but it’s hard to live it. Boy,
could I use a dose of that!
He's Open-minded:
All the same, Gru learns. Aside from the big lessons of love he learns in each
movie, he changes in all kinds of other ways. He develops a moral code and a conscience,
for one thing. On a lighter level, he tries stuff—everything from going to a
carnival to kissing his minions goodnight to letting Margo grow up a little.
I always want to keep trying new things!
He’s In the Moment:
I love the part of the second movie when Gru walks across the park all happy
and in love, then walks back, depressed, after he finds out Lucy is moving.
Sure, he’s a jerk on the way back, but he’s living his life as it is. And the
chip hat! I want a chip hat every time I’m depressed from now on.
There are complex psychological terms for this, but he also
doesn’t take things personally. The Bank of Evil turns down his loan? Temporary
setback. A circumstance, not a personal failure.
And, in the end, letting go of unsuccessful moments like
that is what allows Gru—or anyone else—to succeed in the end. So, yes, I aspire
to live each moment as it is, so I can let it go and be open to the next one.
He Loves Unconditionally:
When he gives his heart, Gru gives it for real. Look how loyal he is to his
minions and what a fun team energy they have—celebrating their successes and
rolling with their, um, really bad jelly.
Once those girls come into his life, he fights for them—defeating
carnival shysters, evil villains, and his own fears without blinking. And he
does the for-real stuff, too—the bedtime stories, the kisses, the juggling of work
and parenting, the apologies for mistakes…not to mention throwing a fairy princess
party for Agnes and even playing the fairy princess. Now that schtuff’s real.
So this is why I like Gru. He’s an “I just gotta be me” kind
of guy, complex yet simple, honest, loyal, open, loving…and really sarcastic.
It’s amazing how much character they packed into that animated movie.
Plus I have to
learn to say “Girls!” like he does….
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