I don’t think of myself as very fancy.
Most of my clothes come from Target. When I want to splurge I get the Costco spinach dip. I mostly like to stay home, reading library books on my couch.
But today — I am super duper fancy.
Jeremy and I are being whisked away to London for the weekend.
The producers of the Mrs. Doubtfire Musical invited me to London for the 30th anniversary of the film opening in the UK. How could I pass up an offer like that?
I have a conflicted relationship with The Movie. I truly enjoyed the filming of it, and it was such a gift to develop deep relationships with Robin, Sally, Matt, and Mara.
But there is a darker side. Since I was 14 years old, I’ve been dealing with stalkers — who profess obsessive love or threaten violence and death. TMZ still posts shit about me even though I retired from acting more than twenty years ago. Some people have this idea that my life peaked before I could drive, and have no value other than pretending to be someone else.
I occasionally wonder: if someone had told me back then that I would be asked endless questions, still get recognized, and still hear about Doubtfire in the cultural zeitgeist— a full 30 YEARS later, would I have done it?
I spent a couple of decades running away from The Movie. Other people have the luxury of getting distance from their pasts. If you played soccer in 9th grade, you probably don’t still have random people coming up to you on the street, asking what your coach was like. I’ve accepted the fact that when I die, the first line will be “Mrs. Doubtfire's Daughter is Dead.” My legacy was defined for me when I was a teenager and for the general public, I’ll never change that.
But I also recognize that The Movie set me on a path that brought me to this very moment. And this moment is amazing. I don’t mean the fancy London part. I mean the Blue Mala part. The Mission Flexible part. The part where I get to sit on the couch with my husband and dog and eat some spinach dip. Those parts are all so beautiful that my heart skips a beat.
So like everything, it’s a balance. The good and the bad are inextricably linked, just like everyone else’s lives.
I haven’t written much about The Movie before, other than the chapter about it in my first book. Honestly, it feels like a strange departure from the evasion and resistance techniques I usually employ. But that’s the thing about our pasts, they exist whether we acknowledge them or not. And usually, the thing you resist is the thing that persists.
So I’m very excited to go to London and see the musical, meet the people involved, hug Lydia 2.0, and experience that sweet nostalgia again. I’ll feel that deep sense of gratitude that I got to be part of something that was meaningful to people.
And then I’ll get tea and crumpets or some other fancy shit.
In case you missed it, here is the time when I got to see my faux family again after 25 years. We tried to coordinate a reunion for the 30th anniversary, but that was during the actor’s strike, so we were not able to talk about the movie.
And shhhh, don’t tell anyone: but Matt, Mara and I are trying to work something out for this spring. I’ll keep you posted.
And if you just want to see the best part when I tried to be cool as Pierce Brosnan kissed the top of my head, please enjoy this:
And just because, here is Doubtfire cut as a horror film:
Since we’re taking videos today, thought I’d share this new one. I’m opening up my speaking event schedule this year — this is a little video I made in which I talk about how I got here, and why I love sharing mindfulness tools with all kinds of folks.
And don’t forget we have lots of new content over on Blue Mala — yoga and meditation all on demand for pay-what-you-can monthly members. Not a member yet? Here’s how you sign up.
Oh and just one more thing: last week was the Mission Flexible Mindfulness Retreat for Veterans and it was spectacular. More stories from that to come, but until then, look at these cuties:
Much love to you all, thank you for being here with me.
~Lisa