What Glee and Lady Gaga taught me about anger.

            I’ll admit it: I’m a Gleek.  In case you aren’t completely obsessed with the TV show, Glee, a Gleek is someone who is completely obsessed with it.  I’ve been hooked since the first episode I saw over a year ago and I love it for many reasons. 

First, the music spans both generations and genres.  One episode may be devoted to Fleetwood Mac while the next one covers Rihanna and a variety of Showtunes.  My favorite is when they do a “mash-up,” combining two totally different songs into one awesome track.  Like the brilliance that is Bon Jovi’s “It’s my life” mashed up with Usher’s “Confessions.”

            But it’s not just about the music.  They cover a zillion relevant issues from the President of the abstinence club/Head cheerleader getting pregnant and giving the baby up for adoption, to a gay guy getting bullied by a closeted football player.  Not all of the issues are so extreme.  Most are just things a lot of us faced when we were in high school, and some that we still face today.

            So last night, I was catching up on the final five episodes of the season.  The premise of one episode was being comfortable in your own skin.  Accepting who you are, as you are.  The group performed Lady Gaga’s ‘Born this Way” and each character had to select the one thing they disliked most about themselves and print it on a t-shirt.  One said, “Nose.”  Another said, “Bad Dancer.”  The dumb girl’s shirt said, “I’m with stoopid.”  As I sat watching it, I thought about what I would print on my own shirt.  And I discovered it wasn’t something I should accept.  It’s how I handle anger.

            I don’t think I’ve ever been very good at dealing with anger.  I usually stuff it down until I can stuff no more.  Then it bubbles up and explodes on whoever is closest (Generally, my unsuspecting husband).  But lately, my five- year-old has really been trying my patience and there isn’t even time to stuff the anger.  We just get into a screaming match and then I’m standing there all frazzled, realizing I am in fact, fighting with a five-year-old. 

I don’t want to teach my kids my angry habits.  They suck.  And they are really hard to break.  So this morning, the two of us sat down and talked about what happens when we start to feel angry.  We talked about the faces we make and the way our tummies feel.  We talked about how he wants to throw things (I didn’t tell him sometimes I want to throw him).  Then we talked about all the things we could do instead of what we actually do now.

Much like being grateful takes a lot of effort and practice, I know that handling the way we interact when we’re mad is going to take A LOT of work.  But I think it’s something we both need right now.  Summer is hard.  Five-year-olds are tricky.  Apparently, almost-thirty-three-year-olds are too.  And sometimes, TV and music can be educational.