Burnt Toast

This week, I've been reading Teri Hatcher's book, Burnt Toast. I wanted to read the book when I'd first heard about it on Oprah, but somehow never got around to it. It was on sale at a local B&N bookstore and I figured this was the perfect time to buy it.

It's a funny thing. Lois & Clark was actually my favorite TV show in the mid 90's (that and Dr. Quinn Medicine Woman). I loved Lois Lane and Dean Cain (as Clark) was my crush in school. Oddly enough, I didn't have a thing for Superman, just Clark. I think it was the glasses and the preppy clothes and maybe the brainy attitude. Or, maybe it was just nice to see a strong man rely on things other than physical strength in his "normal" life.

Anyways, back to the subject at hand: Burnt Toast. As I read through the book, I realized how much I have in common with Teri Hatcher. Her introspective musings remind me of the word jumble that goes on in my head on any given day. She talks a lot about mindfulness and awareness, which is something I think of a lot. So, when something good or bad happens in her life, she's thinking "What does it mean?" or "How can I use this to learn more about myself or become a better person?"

Some of the book is funny. Some of it is kind of sad. It was reassuring to know that someone I'd always thought of as being pretty also has some of the same body issues that I've struggled with. And, a few that I have not. It reminded me of how each day you wake up and look in the mirror and you have to deal with what you see there. Outer success has nothing to do with that first impression you get when you wake up and see yourself in the glass. Being on magazine covers doesn't make you any more comfortable in a bathing suit or getting naked with a new guy for the first time (for that story, you'll have to read the book).

I think the lesson carries over into other realms as well. How many people have I looked up to and thought, "Ooh, I want to be just like them." Well, the truth is, do I really want to be just like them? Do I want the pain of divorce or loosing a parent or having my cellulite appear on the cover of a tabloid magazine? No, not so much. I think as women living our lives everyday, we fantasize about the glamorous attention (getting to wear designer clothes or having pretty pictures taken or having a hot male movie star chasing after us). But, we don't think too much about the day that celebrity wakes up and feels fat or that she's having a terrible time in her marriage and tabloids are posting pictures of her boyfriend with other women and making insinuating remarks. And, we don't think too much about the day that the TV show gets canceled or the big movie bombs or the record label refuses to publish the album.

Ultimately, it's good to be me. I may not like it all of the time, but do I want someone else's problems? Baggage? Insecurities? I think I've gotten used to mine and they are used to me, so I think I'll just stick with the devil I know for now.

Okay, so this post has gone on way longer than I'd anticipated. It seems my last couple of posts have twisted and turned in unexpected directions as I started writing them. I'll blame it on Mercury Retrograde.

Feel free to drop a line. Would you want to trade places with a celebrity or successful person? On a good day? A bad day?