Ode to Oprah – her humanness shines through

collage
2003

Recently I began watching the final episodes of Oprah, out of boredom. My love for Oprah had waned.  I used to love, love, love her magazine, but when it changed I didn’t love it. 

The backstory:  Ten years ago, I had a subscription and gave my friends’ subscriptions to O the magazine.  I couldn’t wait each month for the magazine to arrive in my mailbox.  I salivated over all of the columns and loved the “My Favorite Things pages”.

I loved the monthly calendar that was thematic with profound quotes from different authors related to the theme of the magazine.  I loved the colorful layouts.  I found Jo Malone perfume through the magazine, now one of my favorites.  There was also a photo of a beautiful place in the world.  I would use some of the magazine for collaging and making gifts for my friends.

I also enjoyed the magazine’s What I know for sure page. For me at that time in my life, it was like a little bit of therapy: helping me along on my path.

collage
2003

Then, there was a call for teachers for makeovers.  This excited me because I am a teacher.  But, I didn’t make it past the first email interview.  Maybe it was the dimensions of my body.  But it turned me off.  It felt personal to me, because I had been through such a hard time.  I needed to be acknowledged or better yet, pampered for a minute.  I care for people all day, everyday.  I am a caregiver personality.

I was surviving: the loss of my stepson’s mother, separating from his father with two young boys, getting on my feet financially, keeping the roof over our heads and a challenging work environment.

After that, the magazine changed, I didn’t like the changes and I stopped reading.  And I was no longer an Oprah fan. I just looked at the covers of her magazines in the grocery store, occasionally picking one up and glancing through one but that was it.

What I found when I watched the final episodes of Oprah was a moving portrait of a woman who showed her vulnerability, brilliance, humor and caring.  I was not prepared for how much my heart warmed toward her and her staff. 

Seeing the final episodes shows brought me an awareness of how some things are taken for granted, for example: The time – the hours and days, organization and preparation that went into making something be special and wonderful like her  TV show. She has an amazing staff that has cared about her and helped make her vision a reality. 

Watching right now, I saw something different, I saw this woman that I liked and that I would like to be friends with and have deep conversations about everything under the sun.

 I saw a woman who had worked hard, made sacrifices and was human and vulnerable. I fell in love with her.  It didn’t matter to me anymore about whether I liked her magazine or her show.  It mattered that she was a phenomenal woman.  She had a career that spanned 25 years and she was smart and shrewd enough to know when to stop. 

So to you Oprah:

You are a phenomenal woman, a brilliant caring person, I wish you well on your journey. I wish you some carefree relaxed days, unwinding and enjoying the beauty of the sunrise, sunset, the sweet scent of roses and the delicious twinkling of night skies. 

collage
2003

Thank you for all the inspiration you gave me in my life, all the pages of your magazine I tore out, collaged and used as daily reminders to get me through some tough spots.  Thank you and thank all the people on your staff that made inspiration available to me and lots of other women.