Tina Fey, BFFs, and a Giveaway

As you may or may not know, I have a total girl-crush on Tina Fey.  Not for one minute do I think we could be friends because in all likelihood I’d just giggle non-stop while she said things like, “no, seriously, could you please pass the salt?”  Plus she’s all full of sage womanly wisdom and I’m all, “hey, I made a produce bag from another produce bag!”

Nonetheless, I had to read her new book Bossypants.  There is a part in the first chapter where she discusses her famous scar, which she received as a kindergartner when she was slashed in the face by a stranger.  Yes, for real.

As a mom to a child who had a NG tube taped to her face for over a year– her first year, the one where you are supposed to gets zillions of compliments on your beautiful baby– this chapter really hit home.  Like Tina, I also got the strangest reactions when people came up to us in stores and in the park.  They ranged from “oh, that’s nice”, to people averting their eyes and walking away, to the most common comment: “she has such beautiful eyes!”

Yes, she does have beautiful eyes.  Faced with the same split-second decision on what to say to a mom who has a baby with a tube taped to her face I’m sure I’d say the same thing.  HOWEVER.  I know I’m biased, but I truly think Noodle is one of the most beautiful babes ever– eyes, nose, cheeks, chin, all of her.

You’ll have to read the first chapter of Tina Fey’s book to get the full context, but this excerpt touched my heart in a myriad of wonderful and bubbly ways.  About her scar:

Adults were kind to me because of it.  Aunts and family friends gave me Easter candy and oversize Hershey’s Kisses long after I was too old for presents.  I was made to feel special.

 

What should have shut me down and made me feel “less than” ended up giving me an inflated sense of self.  It wasn’t until years later, maybe not until I was writing this book, that I realized people weren’t making a fuss over me because I was some incredible beauty or genius; they were making a fuss over me to compensate for my being slashed.

 

I accepted all the attention at face value and proceeded through life as if I really were extraordinary.  I guess what I’m saying is, this has all been a wonderful misunderstanding.  And I shall keep these Golden Globes, every last one!

This insight came at the perfect time for me, as not one week earlier I’d been asking myself if we focus too much attention on Noodle.  I mean, we clap if she toots and says, “excuse me”.  We laugh when she counts her burps.  And when she pees on the potty?  Ridiculous amounts of kudos are heaped upon her.  You’d think she’d just graduated from Harvard.

Of course, to us, she is “the girl who lived“.  Every thing she does is a miracle, because she wasn’t supposed to be able to do any of it.  And if she earns a Golden Globe or Nobel Peace Prize or two, so be it!!

Back to the original intent of my post.  I’m sending Bossypants down to my BFF who could use a serious pick-me-up right now.  Along with it, I’m including a handwritten note on a card from Pear Tree Greetings.  It’s rare I remember to send notes or birthday card because I’m so darn forgetful, but knowing how great it feels to receive one makes me take a minute to do that for my friend.  You can win a set of Pear Tree Notelettes for yourself simply by commenting on this post.  I’ll choose one comment randomly on June 20th, and the winner will receive 24 notelettes of their choice.

Use them to show your BFF how much you love her, stick them in lunch bags for your sweeties, or write to Tina Fey and give her a piece of your mind!  And while you’re at it, please apologize to her for my stalker-like obsession.  It’s just that we have an inside scar of our own that is still healing, and having her as a role model makes it a bit easier!

I realize this post started here, went there, and ended up somewhere completely different.  In summary, Tina Fey is my fake wife, I love my BFF, and you can win some notecards.  Whew.