Lately, it seems I can’t scroll through news headlines online without coming across one, two (sometimes 10) stories about Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie. (The irony that I, too, am now writing about them is not lost.)
I’ve clicked on several links to read the latest updates in their apparent child custody battle (as if that is my business). From allegations of child abuse to concerns expressed by Jolie’s father, actor Jon Voight, anytime a reporter gets wind of a change in the situation, a list of new links shows up on the Google search page.
It’s made me think more deeply about what it must be like to live in the waters of the “fish bowl” we call “Hollywood.” I feel sorry for families who can’t even seem to take a walk in a park without it becoming national (or international) news.
Jolie and Pitt and have six children. Most of them are so young at this time they are probably only somewhat aware of the outside attention and scrutiny regularly thrust upon their lives. It certainly can’t be easy, however, for any child to watch his or her parents go through divorce, much less fight over who gets to live with him or her. It has to be tough to have a therapist or some other “supervisor” present every time you visit with your dad.
It’s made me realize I take my own family’s privacy for granted. We live in the woods, and, although we have neighbors, they’re a significant distance away. Our physical house is not visible from the road. I don’t even have curtains on my front windows because it’s not needed and leaving the window bare allows us a beautiful panoramic view of the forests and fields outside our door.
I can’t imagine what it would be like to have people with cameras taking shots of everything we do. (Okay, I can somewhat imagine that part as my kids have been known to take unexpected (unwelcome) pictures with their Kindle Fires after which my voice can usually be heard echoing through the woods, shouting, “Deleeeeeeeeeete that, noooooooow!”).
It must really stink having half the nation watching your family live and exposing moments you’d rather most people not even know about.
Then again, I have to laugh thinking about the ridiculous types of headlines that would most likely appear if my family were the one in the fish bowl of Hollywood. The typical Google list would probably read something like this:
- Mysterious trail of random, unmatching socks found in Dudich woods
- Dudich kids’ dad seen tossing shoes he tripped over right out the front door
- Dudich Debacle: Parents seen chasing kids who were chasing dog who was chasing chickens through the forest
- All Quiet on the Dudich Homefront: Guess they all slept through their alarms—again
I seriously do pray for families like Pitt’s and Jolie’s when I read about their troubles, but deep down I’m secretly glad fame and fortune does not appear to be part of my own foreseeable future.
Nothing in our fish bowl but one tiny catfish because:
- Mysterious deaths of all other fish in Dudich kids’ fish tank occurred when new snail bought from PetSmart was added to tank.
Writer Bio
Judy Dudich resides in the beautiful woods of Pennsylvania, where 24 acres of land and a home-office provide the perfect setting for her children’s home-education and her own homesteading and business ventures. Life is full of blessings (and challenges!) for Judy, as a wife, mother of 10 and Grammy to six. She is a published author, whose book, “I Surrender/A Study Guide for Women” continues to encourage and support others in Christian family lifestyles throughout the world. Judy has also previously worked in the online speaking circuit. Her passion for permaculture, re-purposing, foraging and organic gardening fills her days with learning and adventure that she loves to share.
