Lesson Four: Courage is Not Defined by Age

My husband and I had the chance to go to the Guy Fieri Roadshow this weekend.  If you don't know who Guy Fieri is, he is the rock star, rebel chef of the Food Network.  He is a tattoo covered, spiky haired, rock and roll, beer guzzling, larger than life personality.  The audience that this show brought in was not your typical cooking show audience.  There were more tattoos and bling and dark sunglasses than I have seen in a long time.  They were loud and slightly crude but clearly appreciated what Guy Fieri was doing for cooking.

As part of the show, Guy asked for volunteers to come up and sing.  He wasn't providing music, he just wanted some volunteers who could come up and sing accapella.  There were about 5 adults in varying stages of inebriation who volunteered and then there was a 12 year old girl.  They all got up there and sang, some well, some not so well and do you know who won?  The 12 year old.  Not because she was 12 but because she was good.  Not only was she good, but she totally held her own with a personality powerhouse.  Can you imagine the courage it takes to get up on stage when you are 12 years old in front of a beer-swilling, tattoo covered audience of adults?  She is braver than I would have been.

I always think that kids are braver than we give them credit for.  My kids were 10 and 11 when I was diagnosed with cancer and I thought the bravest thing I had ever seen was having my daughters watch me have my head shaved in preparation for chemo.  They were understanding and brave and I could not have been prouder of their reactions.  They were in fact much braver than I was.  I was terrified, but they handled it with grace and courage.

Lesson Four:  Courage is Not Defined by Age.