My 50 minutes of fame on the BBC (while wearing sweatpants)

It was just a typical Wednesday morning, or any morning, for that matter. I sat on the couch, laptop open, planning my grocery shopping trip for later in the afternoon. (It takes hours to plan when you attack the store like the crazy coupon diva you are.) My toddler sat at my right, still a bit groggy, munching on Cheerios while watching the annoyance that is Caillou. A notification popped up, informing me I had a new interaction on Twitter. “Probably just another spammy follower,” I thought to myself. But what I saw was not a scantily clad avatar with an obviously fictitious name and a feed propagated with virus-inducing links. No. This was a woman name Emma Wilson…from the BBC.

I'll never wash this tweet.
I’ll never wash this tweet.

The BBC! Was this for real? Could it be an acronym for something else? No. It was legit. My pulse raced a bit. I contacted her back, thus setting into action my first big-time media interview. I mean, this is a big deal for me. I’ve had the opportunity to appear on local media, but only in relation to my previous job. Not for something I did…on my own. My writing.

And I think that’s what made this such a big deal for me. Not so much the what, but the why. I mean, nearly anyone can rocket up to the national spotlight for a variety of silly reasons. Falling into a fountain while walking and texting. Posting a video of your baby freaking out when you sneeze. You get the picture. But I was contacted about a blog post I’d written awhile back about why and when I’ve lied to my child. I was asked to sit in on a panel discussion of a recent study that revealed most parents lie to their kids. Surprise!

It felt good. And exciting. And surreal. Here I was, sitting in my sweats, in the middle of Kansas wheat field, talking with people from around the globe about one of my favorite topics…parenting. The discussion flowed easily and represented a variety of positions on whether or not it’s necessary or even possible to raise your children without lying to them. Two parents calling in claimed that they’ve never lied to their kids. Ever. One even said his children have never acted out in public. Um…okay. I’d sure like to meet these fictitious children of his.

I had my say, and it was awesome.

Soon enough, the call was over, and I emerged from my bedroom to find my preschooler playing Candyland with my mom in the living room, the toddler tucked away for her nap upstairs. She’d managed to successfully keep them from crashing the call, not a small task. I felt immensely grateful for her coming over last minute, otherwise, I would have had to decline. After all, a ringing phone makes my children forget all their discipline, sending their naughty antics into overdrive. And then, it was back to life as normal. I headed out for an eye doctor appointment, stop a the Verizon store, and then much-needed grocery shopping.

By the time I pulled into the driveway, car completely packed with groceries, and bank account significantly smaller, the excitement of this morning seemed like a distant memory. I know this is probably the coolest thing that will ever happen to me in relation to my blogging journey, but it’s not my favorite thing. The connections I’ve made, the relationships I’ve forged, the lives I’ve touched, those are the things that matter most to me. So many friends tuned in and gave me support. Whether they simply “liked” my (many) posts about it, or offered a few words of encouragement, they were there for me at an exciting time in my life. No matter what comes of my blog, if nothing more than this, I’ll know that I’ve done what I came to do. Tell stories and connect. And that’s worth more than any fleeting moments of fame.

Oh, and if you want to listen for yourself, you can download the podcast here for the next seven days. 🙂

6 responses to “My 50 minutes of fame on the BBC (while wearing sweatpants)

  1. Oh, I never acted out in public. Mom said none of the 8 of us did. She felt incredibly blessed. The reason was we knew we would face the wrath of Father (and that dreaded leather strap in the broom closet) if we did. Sheer terror of physical punishment can be a great molder of behavior, though I know that ‘motivation’ is frowned upon today. And I can’t say I endorse it. I just know it kept US in line.

    Kudos for your appearance today! Well-deserved!!!!

  2. You ARE kinda a big deal after all, you know! At least to your friends here in the heartland who have followed your journey – and who realize how huge this is. What did you do to celebrate? And if you didn’t, you should! WOOHOOOOO!!! There, I did a little happy dance for you in case you forgot to do it yourself.

  3. So very excited for you, Cat. You are a wonderful writer and I’m glad that people are getting the chance to see your work!

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