TYLA PRESIDENT’S PAGE DECEMBER 2022
(Applies Aftershave) ‘AHHHHHHHH!’
?This column is dedicated to my parents. I’ll be home for
Christmas.
Even before Home Alone came out in 1990, I recall noticing my
dad’s Brut aftershave. Brut glows green cartoonishly like a bottle of
poison; so naturally, it stood out to me. After seeing Kevin McCallister
use Brut aftershave when his dad wasn’t home, I, of course, had to do
the same. And I learned a very important life lesson: Brut really does
burn. Home Alone perhaps taught me a more important life
lesson: Good parents make mistakes. And, as Home Alone 2: Lost in
New York taught me, sometimes good parents make the exact same
mistakes multiple times.
When I was a teenager, I vowed never to come back home for the holidays.
I came out to my parents when I was 16 years old and, without getting
too much into the details, I can’t say that it went well. Although I
knew my parents loved me, their actions were really hurtful, and I left
home a year before I had planned to finish high school. Over the years,
our relationship improved significantly. But seven years ago, when I
told them that I was getting married, they told me they wouldn’t come to
the wedding. Again, although I knew my parents loved me, their actions
were very hurtful, and I renewed my vow to never go back home for the
holidays.
I used to see myself as Kevin in Home Alone, but now I see
things slightly differently. I’m actually the McCallister house, and
Kevin is just my inner child. The scary basement furnace represents the
parts of me that I’ve had to accept and not be afraid of. Old Man Marley
is the queer community—once vilified to me, but in which I’ve found
friends and my chosen family. Harry and Marv are all the demons that
I’ve struggled to ward off from stealing away the best parts of me.
And Peter and Kate McCallister are my parents. Like all good parents,
they made mistakes. They left a child behind—a child who, despite his
excitement about his coming-of-age prospects and his ability to handle
many of the challenges he faced, really wasn’t ready to take care of the
house all by himself. Although he was successful at overcoming his
fears, he ultimately wasn’t able to fight off his demons alone. Those
parents then made a similar mistake years later. But upon realizing
their mistakes, they always made genuine efforts to find their way back
to their house and back to the child inside, just in time for
Christmas.
With this year’s holiday season right around the corner, I hope you’ll
consider finding your way back to your family or chosen family, even if
you’re still hurting from mistakes they’ve made. If they’re still trying
to find their way back to you, then there’s always the possibility of
mending those relationships and having a merry Christmas and happy
holidays.
Michael J. Ritter
2022-2023 President, Texas Young Lawyers Association
For more information on TYLA, contact them at tyla@texasbar.com or go to tyla.org.
