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What Matters Most
October 9, 2008
After an 11 a.m. QVC appearance for my line of collectible porcelain dolls, a two hour doll collector’s “meet and greet” and signing, a two hour business and creative meeting, three short conference calls about my new inspirational album, six phone calls to and from my children, an additional 1 a.m. show on QVC, check out of the hotel, an hour long drive to the airport, and a ninety minute wait for the first flight out to Las Vegas so I can be there in time to pick my kids up from school, have a meal with them and hear all about their day and then scramble to the Flamingo for hair, makeup, costumes, vocal warm-ups and a 7:30 curtains up on the “Donny and Marie Show”….here I am, writing to you! (You know, I never attended public school as a child, but I can recognize a run-on sentence when I see one!!)
I’m listing my last 24 hours for you, not because I want sympathy, but because throughout that day I was surrounded by people: flight attendants, producers, designers, airline personnel, hair stylists, homemakers, teachers, babysitters, seamstress’s, baggage handlers, security personnel, makeup artists, receptionists, hotel clerks, managers, housekeeping staff, product handlers, phone order takers, waiters, cooks, taxi drivers, students, agents, volunteers and the self-employed. (Okay! I’ll quit with the commas’) Each of them has a life as busy and complicated as mine. It’s our reality, isn’t it?
Even my little six year old daughter is gaining an early understanding of the rigors of daily life. She started first grade this past month and now attends a full day of school.
After one week the novelty of new teachers, new friends, and having a structured day was beginning to wear thin with her.
One afternoon I had to explain to her the reason she couldn’t go to the show every night with Mommy. I reminded her that she had to be rested and ready to learn many new things everyday at her school. With that, Abby tossed her hands into the air and tipped her face towards the ceiling in complete exasperation.
“Oh. I get it,” Abby said. “Every day. Same thing. Get up. Don’t play. Get dressed. Find your backpack. Go to school.”
I didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.
Throughout this presidential debate season, I’m finding it compelling to hear the statistics of American life: 77 percent of households have two income earners and yet are still struggling to keep up, and a June 2008 Working Woman survey showed that 58 percent of women in their 30’s and 40’s say they have less than an hour to themselves each day. I know women in previous generations have felt the same way. My own mother would cheat her sleeping time, still up at 2 a.m., to have an hour to read her scriptures and meditate on their meaning.
Last night, I heard a reporter say that over 6 million questions had been submitted to the Town Hall presidential debate. It’s obvious to me that people need to share their concerns, to “get in touch” with what matters most to them.
One of the main reasons that I feel a dedication to my new talk show this next fall of 2009, is that I know we need the type of community we don’t have anymore because of time constraints. Our mother’s generation shared their issues while hanging up laundry in the backyard, or while choosing produce at the farmer’s market, in church groups, at clubs, on the bus riding home. It was their therapy, their way to process information. And, it wasn’t only the problems…it was their joys, their discoveries, their solutions and their time-savers. Who couldn’t use a dose of that????
As funny as “Ellen” and “Bonnie Hunt” are, as talented with mouth-watering ideas as “Rachel Ray” and “Martha” are, and as wise and life-changing as “Oprah” is, I still see that there’s a lot of room for someone like me: a working, single mom with a large extended family who is trying to live an extremely busy life with the most joy possible. If I’m going to take up a precious hour of your day with my talk show, I want to make it worth your time. I want it to be “what matters most” to you!
And, I want you to feel hopeful, have laughed, maybe cried, and walk away with something useful for your own busy life.
If you have a minute, I’m interested to know what topics, ideas, hopes and dreams matter most to you. What would you tune in to watch? Trust me, I’m going to take notes.
-Marie Osmond
Posted by Sponsored Content: Marie Osmond on October 9, 2008 | Comments (91)