Star turn has mom feeling like a schnook

DEAR AMY: I'm 40. My husband and I have three children: 14, 10 and 5. We have wonderful neighbors who have become close friends. For some time, we've talked about making a dramatic movie together and finally got serious: I was cast as the lead. One of the neighbors has a country cabin, and we decided to film it there. Our idea was to make an action-

adventure movie with some slapstick, just for family and friends. We really had a lot of fun. My big scenes involved getting kidnapped, bound, gagged and eventually escaping. I was gagged with a kerchief and spent the first 20 minutes in a chair watched over by the "bad guys" until the big escape scene. I had to stand up and (with my legs tied and my hands bound behind me) hop through the cabin and across the lawn, where my husband "rescued" me. I enjoyed showing off my agility. We arranged to have a "premiere" with our kids (who weren't there during filming). I felt utterly humiliated listening to my children laugh as I hopped around on the screen. I hated having my kids see me that way. The kids loved it, and now they want to see it again and again. I sit there bravely, but I am mortified. Instead of being an agile, clever heroine, I'm a hapless schnook. I can't undo this, but I'd like to recover some dignity. Any suggestions?--Tied Up

DEAR TIED UP: It takes a certain kind of bravery to let yourself be seen in an unflattering way, especially in this era, when even children stage-manage their public profiles through flattering "selfies" and demanding the right to delete any photos/

videos they deem insufficiently awesome.

My advice has been personally road-tested (I've tripped, slipped and fumbled my way through life, sometimes before large audiences).

You just have to own it. Even if you have to fake it, take a deep bow and say, "Thank you. I'll be here all week." What a great lesson in humility, ego balance and social bravery for your kids.