Reading and Watching as Escapism

Jade Goody died yesterday. Jade was the 27 year old British reality star I blogged about a few weeks ago (http://livelylibrarian.blogspot.com/2009/02/reality-star-is-dying.html)who was dying in the public eye. The news that she lost her fight with cancer and left her 2 young sons, new husband and family and friends truly saddened me, but somehow also relieved me. Once her very large and public funeral takes place in the next week or so her stories will be taken off the front page and her family will go on without her larger-than-life personality. I truly hope she found peace and that the reality driven life she led benefits her boys. Financially Jade left her sons a comfortable legacy, emotionally no one can predict how they will be affected from her very public lifestyle. Regardless of the controversy, Jade was a devoted mother and lived life on her own terms and I will miss reading about her antics.

During the media siege over the tragic news of celebrities dying over the past week (Richardson and Goody) I felt the need to retreat a bit into make believe. On Saturday I hosted my favorite 4 year old for a tea party. We dressed up, drank "tea" with our pinkies up, watched a Disney Princess video and wore lots and lots of "diamonds". I really can't think of better escapism than Disney, although Jane Austen comes in close.
On Sunday I watched the 2005 version of Pride and Prejudice (with Keira Knightly as Elizabeth Bennett)and when my husband walked into the bedroom last night and heard, "Mr. Darcy" uttered on screen he said, "Mr. Darcy? Is that what we saw at the theater last weekend? Haven't you had enough?". I answered, "No I can never have enough, it's the perfect love story".
In between my Princess tea party and Pride and Prejudice I retreated into my historical romance novels and for an hour or so I'm a heroine during the Regency era. In the pages of my favorite books, everything is left to fate, love prevails and there is always a happy ending. No one dies in a skiing accident, cancer doesn't kill young women and motherless children grow up to find love and happiness.