Parents, credit for the best thing you'll hear all day goes to Paris Jackson. The teenage daughter of the late Michael Jackson has booked her first major acting role and granted Ellen DeGeneres her first solo interview. And what she says about her famous father may just make you cry tears of joy.
Remember the masks Paris and brothers Blanket and Prince used to wear when they were out in public with the King of Pop? It turns out she hated them. Color me not surprised: the masks were a little off-putting to the rest of us, but as adults, I think most of us got it.
Michael was one of the world's most famous men, and he was being chased by paparazzi. Protecting his kids was part of the job. And who hasn't tried to protect their kids, only to have the kids chafe at the restrictions? It turns out we're all a lot more like Michael Jackson than we ever realized.
But now that she's older, Paris has the benefit of hindsight, and she's come to appreciate her dad all the more. Ah, thank goodness for the wisdom of advancing years! It seems like things really clicked when Paris started private school after her father's death at age 50 in 2009. Because her identity had been shrouded by her dad, she was able to start school as an unknown and enjoy a "normal" life with her peers:
I was like, this is stupid, why am I wearing a mask? But I kinda realized the older I got he only wanted to protect us, and he explained it to us, too.
Oh thank you, Paris, thank you, and another thank you! This girl just reminded us of the one thing every parent needs to know to keep us from tearing our hair out: they will figure out we're on their side ... one day!
Maybe not today, and maybe not tomorrow, but for all those awful warnings that the teen years are the most troubling, they're also marked by the glorious thing that is a brain developed enough to reason. You can explain things to teenagers the way you can't a little kid. They can begin to put their past complaints in context and start to realize you are not actually Satan.
Folks, put Paris' words in the back of your mind, and feel free to pull them out the next time your kid tells you you're the worst mom in the world because you dared forbid them from getting a ride home from school with the town's worst driver, from that boy/girl sleepover where there will be drinking, from going to that rave ... need I go on? This will enable you to keep your sanity while they call you everything but a nice person.
Do you feel some days like your kids just don't get that you are trying to help them?
Image via Getty Images/Ethan Miller