What I learned from Dory

Today I took Kelli to see Finding Dory for the 3^rd time. She is obsessed with ocean life right now, I love it! She goes around telling me “Nemo is a clown fish, Dory is a blue tang, Destiny is a whale shark, I like hammer head sharks!” My little Marine Biologist!  Every time I have seen it there have been two phrases that have stuck out to me:

South Carolina Aquarium 

"Sea Urchins are kinda yucky, Mommy" 

“What would Dory do?”

And

“You’ve done it your own way”

It finally dawned on me today WHY they stuck out, and then I felt ridiculous for not seeing it in the beginning.

Dory is the one who is off the wall, doesn’t think all the way through, and most importantly not the one who you would “typically” want to follow. 

Yet, in the moment Marlin and Nemo are swimming there brainstorming asking each other “What would Dory do?” over and over again. Then Nemo reminds Marlin “She would do the first thing that came to mind” She wouldn’t think. She would just do. Which is not always good. But it’s interesting that is the character they chose for that phrase.

Nemo and Marlin always stick together

Why does this stand out to me? Took me forever, but it’s because she is not the one you would typically think to yourself “What would__ do?” In fact, she is the one with a disability, she can’t remember! But they stop to think of how she would do it, what she would see, and what she would do with what she is given. Instead of just floating in a tank trying to get Becky to come back, they jump onto a splash pad and kinda “surf” over. Exactly what Dory would have done… And it worked.

“You’ve done it your way” Is Jenny’s reminder to Dory, and is a reminder to the world we all do EVERYTHING differently. From the big things to the smallest things. We all drive, dress, work, think, comprehend, learn, eat, manage money, parent, speak, and walk differently. Is there a wrong way (that isn’t illegal) to do any of those? Too many times people give other people sideways looks when the do it in an “odd” or different way.  

Her parents never gave up on her

I was on one of my 6 (soon to be 8) job interviews. And one question I was asked was how do I remember what needs to be done by when. It’s a great question, every teacher or any other working being, has a system. Some use their phone, some use calendars, I use sticky notes.

People at work always got a kick out of seeing my desk, it was always covered in sticky notes with things I needed to do, when support came in, who stayed after, etc. If you wanted something done you had to put it on a sticky note. That is my system. That is the “Julia way.” Is that the wrong way? Does it make me any less of a teacher?

I go through sticky notes like no tomorrow

When it came to sleep training Kelli I always called it the “Julia Method.” It was a mix of cry it out and come when she cried. That was my way. Is that wrong? Does it make me any less of a mother?

Kelli has always been my sleeper

Does the fact that I don’t usually use the cruise when I’m driving, make me a bad driver?

My Car

Hint: The answer is a loud NNNOOO!!!

We tell our self no, when you’re reading this you tell yourself “I don’t do that.” Yet when we see that Mom yelling at her kid or a desk full of stick notes, we look with a suspecting eye.

So world, what can we learn from Finding Dory? 

~Even some of the most calculated, smartest people (or fish) might have to think from someone else’s point of view to get an answer.

~We all do everything different. And that’s ok. Even good.

~Pixar & Disney animates the cutest baby fish. 

Baby Dory!