It's been a nice, vacation-y week. Tonight was my mom's surprise party for her 70th birthday, which I have been planning for a few months, and it went off very nicely. The book I put together for her of photos and memories from siblings, spouse, children & grandchildren was a huge success. Mom was very appreciative, which was the most rewarding of all. I'll post some photos later on.
We watched the movie
Waitress tonight. I'd heard/read about it a few times, but didn't know much about it besides that it somewhat chronicled a pregnancy. It was a very good movie. It was gritty (a word overused in movie reviews, methinks, but entirely appropriate here) and real. Even if they make me squirm at times, I have a hard time not liking real movies that reveal the messiness of the human experience. A couple of other movies that I think merit such distinction are
As Good as it Gets and
Real Women Have Curves. There are others, too.
I gave my mom the boxed set of
Stargirl and
Love, Stargirl for Christmas, simply because the former is one of my all-time favorite books, and I wanted to share it with her. (I've not yet read the latter.) She told me that she read it and loved it, and that it really makes you think. It was odd how thrilled I was to hear this. I can't quite explain it, but I feel like the story of Stargirl is in some way my own story, or the story I wish I could have written about who I was growing up. I very often felt separate and apart from the group, while simultaneously never doing anything that didn't seem to be what everyone else did. That, of course, is the exact opposite of Stargirl. Perhaps it is better said that I felt my true self
was someone like Stargirl. The story really resonates with me for myriad reasons. When she said she liked the book, it felt like some sort of bridge of added understanding between us. I've always had a good relationship with my mom, but in the past couple of years I have felt a stronger bond drawing me to her than ever before.
On a final note of late-night reflection, I have come to realize that I definitely suffer from Seasonal Affective Disorder. I think I don't like to face the fact, because it is one of those "trendy" things that everyone and their dog seems to suffer from, but I am hoping that acknowledging it in my own mind will be motivation to pursue a course of activity to mitigate its effects. This past month it has been a real battle to get out of bed most days, and I think it is the toll of facing gray, cold weather day after day that really saps my energy. I am very grateful that we have passed the Winter Solstice, though, and that shorter nights, longer days and SPRING are in our future. I would definitely have been all for celebrating with the druids the return of more light. "Oh thank you, Sun, for not burning out and abandoning us to a cold, miserable death!" (Hey, Andrea, I guess I have a bit of drama in me, too!)
