Aunt Cass from Big Hero Six is one of my favorite Disney parents, because Aunt Cass is an adoptive Mom! And she is imperfect. And yet, I have no doubt that Hiro and Tadashi know that Aunt Cass loves them. Being an imperfect mother myself, I am grateful for Disney’s example of a woman who becomes a mother in what we gather to be a sad and difficult situation. Shee is doing the best she can with the tools she has available to her. And though each of us becomes a parent in our own unique way, we can learn a lot from the way Aunt Cass takes the talents she was blessed with and applies them to parenting.
Aunt Cass is blessed with being full of enthusiasm. he has a dedicated heart and no short supply of effort and drive. We see all these talents poured into her parenting moments throughout the movie, my favorite of which being when her love and pride for her family boils over in public and she yells out, “I LOVE MY FAMILY!” Not what you would call a traditional parenting moment, but it is a perfect example of her enthusiasm, dedication, and effort exploding in one moment of love. This is just one of many examples we see of great parenting moments from her: not perfect moments, but heartfelt and impactful.
It made me think, what talents have I been blessed with that might not perfectly fit into motherhood but that I could use to positively impact my children’s lives? I was determined to make a list. This is not an easy task! Creating a list of things I believed were natural talents was hard. But I challenge you to do this because it will help you to see what makes you special as a parent. This list will show you what makes you special to your children . . . and help you and your child see why you are a match! I have this intense love for music that I see as one of my talents. I am not musically talented, I am appreciative of the musically talented. And I had never realized that this could be a unique mothering skill, but after making my list, I realized how many moments I express my love to my sons through music. It pleases me to think that certain songs will always give my boys warm fuzzies as they remember their mom singing to them.
Expressions of love in her unique way are what makes Aunt Cass such a great parent. We see a family tradition of giving the “last hug” when saying good-bye. That might have seemed insignificant when it was started, but through the movie we see how it has evolved to an important expression of love. Don’t underestimate how important YOU are to your child. Be yourself, a beautiful mix of imperfections and talents. Your child wouldn’t want it any other way and will always be grateful for the special touches your personality adds to the relationship.
