Kevin Bacon understands!

I am so glad the Olympics are over. I just couldn’t take it anymore. I love watching the skiing and the skating and even the bobsledding, but I couldn’t stand it when someone would fall or crash. All I could think about was the mom. The mom who, after investing so much of herself in her kid’s hobby that turned into an Olympic dream, had to watch all those dreams come crumbling down. So much riding on one or two or three minutes.

And while I honestly felt for those moms, I think the real reason I couldn’t watch anymore is because it hit too close to home. Amy is auditioning for musical theater programs at several colleges. She has all of four minutes to impress the judges. Everything rests on those four minutes. No one cares what a marvelous kid she is. No one cares about character references. No one cares how much she’s practiced and researched and worked on those four minutes.  All that matters is what happens in those four minutes. And in those four minutes, I can’t do anything to help her. 

And if she goes into this for a career, each time she tries out for a new job she’ll be judged in four minute chunks. Ugh.

Turns out, Kevin Bacon knows just how I feel. (Yes, the Footloose Kevin Bacon.) I recently read an interview where he talked about his concern for his daughter, who has decided to follow in his famous footsteps and give acting a try. He said, “…being an actor is kind of like a career where you say, ‘I’m going to spend the rest of life getting judged on whether or not the performance is working, on what I look like, what I sound like.’ So to see your child want to put themselves in that kind of position…”

Oh, Kevin. Thanks for understanding.

So congratulations to all the Olympic winners. Don’t forget to thank your moms! And to the disappointed athletes and their moms – know there are other people out there feeling your pain. We’ll be pulling for you and your moms four years from now when you can once again be judged on those one two or three minutes.

Kyria Sedgwick (star of my favorite show, The Closer - man, do I miss it!), 

Kevin Bacon and their daughter, Sosie.