Saturday, January 10, 2009

Superstar Ace and His Stage Mom

I have often wondered what goes into the making of a child star. I hear people say that their children "want" to do it. That they are merely supporting their child's dreams. I admit that at times I'm skeptical. This may be because my children tended to have dreams like I dream of floating on my Mutant Ninja Turtle sled, rather than simply using it in snow, therefore I will flood my basement with three feet of water so I can float atop this item just like I've seen people in tropical climates do in the ocean.

Good times. Good times.

Give me a moment while I find my happy place again.....oh yeah....back to my current story-so I have wondered what makes a child want to be a star? Because while my children were creative, they never once expressed desire to be a *star*. They mostly just focused on being children.

So for these little ones that the parents say this is what they want to do, is this something unique to child stars and why? It is just put in them by their maker? Or do the parents have something to do with this? And I'm not talking about the psycho parents who are clearly trying to live through their children when I ponder this. In those situations, it is quite apparent to me that the child has no choice in the matter. I'm more talking the kind of kids that do indeed light up while performing and treat it as children treat play. Where you can tell they do enjoy it. Did the parents plant that seed or does the child truly just know that this will bring them joy and beg the parents to help?Fast forward to Auburn and Ace. Auburn and Ace have given me some interesting insight into this. I know, hardly scientific given he is a dog but it has similar parallels to child star and stage moms to be sure. Ace has always seemed to perform tricks well from the time he became one of the family. It's hard to say whether he enjoys it because it's hard to tell what Ace likes given his mellow personality. But he really does seem to like showing off his tricks for others.

I can't say if he'd have had this desire on his own by any means because I've never come across a dog that tried to shake on his own. But I do think he would be the type of dog to be looking for attention by being as close as possible to humans all day long if he could choose. I'll never know for sure because Auburn has proven to be the ultimate stage mom with Ace and just dove into the training from day one. She hovers, she pushes, prods, praises, kisses and hugs him with fierce devotion. He doesn't seem to mind at the very least and he adores her at the very most so it seems to be a great combo for the two of them.

I'm pretty sure there are dogs that would be neurotic with the kind of attention and drilling she does with Ace. And I'm pretty sure if he couldn't handle it, she would back off. Because they seem to mesh well with this style of training, he now knows around 30 tricks.

I thought we'd show him off some. Ace standing up tall:

Getting his tail:
Giving her high five:
Playing dead or at least wounded:
And the beginnings of him walking on his hind legs (he can back up doing this):
It's so cool to watch. She hopes to be an animal trainer some day, working with dolphins if she can. I think this is a great way to get some practice in now.


I also have to share that I am so excited that we finally have a grill. Half a year on the road and we just now have purchased this invaluable item, and it's not the one we will eventually buy, but it's a beautiful thing to me because I hate to cook. Any night that we can "grill" means an easy night for me.
We're just living the life here in Florida!

5 comments:

unschoolermom said...

Very cute dog pictures! I love them! I think, a lot of times, with child stars, it truly is the child. I remember when I was four or five wanting to be a ballerina and performing for people with a record. As I got a little older, that turned to a love for music. I always, always wanted to perform. I wish I would have had the opportunity more than I did. I did things like little talent shows. I did more talent shows and performing as a teenager - playing in worship teams, etc. That's why I do encourage my sons to follow their interests - wherever their interests take them. My almost-six-year old loves art. I encourage him to display his art - even on our living room walls. He loves his dance class. He loved performing in a Christmas program along with the rest of his dance class. He's all excited about a spring recital. The first words out of his mouth when he came out of dance lessons this week was to tell me all about the costume he's going to wear for the spring recital. So I think it really does depend on the child. Unfortunately, I'm sure there are many others whose parents do force them into being a star. :^(

Kandy

Show Us The World said...

Very interesting. You are the first person I've met that said they always wanted to perform. Thanks for weighing in and sharing your perspective!

Do you still want to perform and if so, do you?

Krystal

unschoolermom said...

I do not as much anymore - since marriage and children - who has time? LOL. As a teenager, I got really into music and songwriting. I play several stringed instruments. I have thought about joining our worship team at church, since I have experience in that; but my work schedule and practice time just do not line up well. After college, I really want to get into speaking engagements - speaking on theological/apologetical topics. I enjoy public speaking - have some experience there, too. In March, I'll be speaking at a conference presented by Heart of God Ministries International for a book that I wrote for called Women of Passions. While, of course, this is not "performing," I think without the willingness to be able to be in front of people; I definitely would not want to do it. LOL. I do think some people are just given a gift of wanting to perform. Some use that gift to perform. Others use it to speak. Even pastors and evangelists have to have a certain comfort with being in front of others.

Kandy

Show Us The World said...

You have done many different forms of performing so far I see! Neat! I hope you are able to do it more often as your children grow older, if it does bring you joy. I have heard you talking about the tour on CCU. I had no idea you wrote for the book. What did you write? Very cool!

unschoolermom said...

The book tour is for Women of Passions - http://womenofpassions.net/. It's truly an awesome, awesome project. The article I wrote is entitled "A Difficult Decision" - an article telling why I left a job based upon differing opinions of right and wrong.

Kandy