What can we all learn from the Baudelaire orphans (besides vocabulary)?
My daughters and I started watching A Series of Unfortunate Events when it first aired last season. The show is based on books (which I confess I have not read) about three children who are orphaned when their parents die in a tragic fire. The three children are known as, you guessed it, the Baudelaire orphans.
There is Violet Baudelaire, who is 14 and a mechanical genius. Klaus, who is a bookworm and a very knowledgeable young man. And then there’s Sunny, the Baudelaire baby whose claim to fame is her scathing sharp teeth that she uses to do impossible things.
The Baudelaire children receive news of their parents tragic death by fire from Mr. Poe, the bank manager, who is also the executive of their parents’ estate. The children were left a ginormous amount of money in which they will gain control when Violet comes of age. In the meantime, Mr. Poe is responsible for ensuring the children’s safety. He attempts to do so by placing them with the appropriate guardian.
The TV series then proceeds to follow the children on their journey to learn about the mysterious circumstances of their parents death and the secret group only known as VFD all while being pursued by the dangerous Count Olaf who wants to gain control of the Baudelaire fortune for himself. As I was wrapping up season 2 just a few days ago, I was thinking about the things that we can learn from the Baudelaire children.
Three things come to mind.
- Determination – To say that the children encountered numerous unfortunate events would be to name the show! But throughout the series they stay determined. Determined to find out what happened to their parents. When circumstances are most harrowing, such as when Sunny is left dangling in a cage from a window high above the ground. Or when they are plummeting down an empty elevator shaft. They choose to continue to move forward; making difficult choices to find what they’re looking for. As runners we also go through events. Maybe not all unfortunate but things like big life events, injuries, or hectic schedules. We can learn to remain determined to reach our goals and not let setbacks keep us down.
- Ingenuity – Violet Baudelaire is somewhat of a mechanical genius. She always seems to find a way to invent a contraption that can help them. In one case she creates a bungee from a length of rubber bands she finds. In another, she repairs a hot air balloon. She always finds a way to work within her circumstances. Runners also need to be creative at times. Finding ways to keep running fresh, finding new routes, finding ways to keep ourselves entertained on long runs. Taking our circumstances and making the best of them with a little ingenuity.
- Valuing family and friends – While the orphans are suddenly all alone, in each episode a guardian and/or friend generally comes along to help. In season 2, they make many new friends who try to help them in their journey of figuring out what happened to their parents. Sometimes we may feel alone in our struggles with running; whether it’s trying to increase our distance or improve our pace or struggling with injuries. It’s always nice to learn that we have family and friends as our support system to cheer us along and keep us motivated. And for those who don’t have family or running friends physically close by, there are running groups in cities or even Facebook. The running community is generally very open and friendly and supportive.
Season 2 ended with a cliffhanger, which I won’t give away here. I encourage you to watch the show. I’m looking forward to seeing what happens in the lives of the Baudelaire orphans next. In the meantime, stay determined, continue to be creative and relish the friends and family you have to support you in your own journey.
Go. Run. Fitness anywhere – Jen