Samwise Gamgee

Creativity and silliness often go hand-in-hand. When our family gathers to watch a tv series or a movie, we assign the characters to the most closely matching family member. Take the ABC show Modern Family, for example. My son is Manny, my husband is Jay, my daughter is close to Alex, and I am the brother-sister combo of Claire and Mitchell. But we skew Geek, so when we watch Firefly, Doctor Who, or Lord of the Rings, we do the same. To me this is perfectly normal, but occasionally when someone else gets a glimpse of the inner workings our family's quirks, they have a momentary lapse where I can see their thoughts cross their face. They are trying to decide whether this is cool, or if they want to back away slowly while mentioning what a lovely day it is.

Over the school holiday break, we re-watched the Lord of the Rings trilogy. Blu-ray extended edition, in case there was any question. Then when the boys were out for a two day trip, my daughter and I got our creative on and made some art - the kind with paper, paint, and sculpey clay.  While creating, we listened to the cast commentary - for all three movies - in the background. It was a little extreme to listen to 12 hours of background chatter, sure, but highly enjoyable. We had assigned the characters. My son was Pippin, my husband was Faramir, my daughter was Gimli. But there was some disagreement with my assessment of my being closest to the character of Galadriel. So I reconsidered.

And I have to admit, I was wrong. I am Samwise. Fiercely loyal, would beat the tar out of someone if they threaten my Frodo, able to deliver lines that would sound cheesy if they weren't said with complete sincerity and pureness of heart, a wistfulness for the idyllic life of the Shire, willing to carry heavy burdens on my back (pots) and spices in my rucksack, because there is a right and proper way to eat. Yes, I am a Sam, which is unfortunate for my daughter because once I made that mental switch, the parallels in real life became immediately obvious to me. If I am Sam, then she is my Frodo. And naturally, you assume I have been getting into the Longbottom leaf. But if you are still reading, then enjoy the ride.

My daughter is now in the January of her Junior year in high school. This means she is now on a twelve month journey, culminating in December, when she will hit a send button and cast her college applications to various college admissions offices. Once she throws-in, the heat of their scrutiny will reveal the strength of her essays, the wisdom of her extra curricular activities, the forged layers of her GPA. And the she will then retreat to gulp for air and to await her fate. Which eagle will swoop down and pluck her from the side of the mountain before she suffocates from the searing hot gasses swirling around her? One will come and it will carry her to a place where she will begin a new part of her life. But the journey is long and difficult. And "one does not simply walk into Mordor college" any more. Not like when I attended and the state college admitted anyone who was a resident, you know, because your taxes supported it.

I feel the weight of the burden she bears. She didn't ask for it, and the college-entry process is all kinds of bullshit. But she has to choose what to do with the time she has been given. (So many lines - I could keep writing this way for days!) She has a few extra difficulties to overcome that most people don't. I have a hope that her response to those challenges may even look attractive to the right school. But no matter, I will be along side until her task is completed and she can sail off to a new land...

"I may not be able to carry the ring, but I can carry you, and it as well." ~Samwise

Robert Plant And Alison Krauss bring it back.