5 posts tagged “crying”
Guess who just lost her two front teeth?
Right in time for all the photos. Whoo hooo! Very cute. And, of course, it has prompted all kinds of holiday theme song singing:
My mom bought this book for our family last week. She and my dad are in town for the holidays. And my mom had heard about this book. There is an elf who hangs out around the house and watches Margaret and her behaviour. Then he reports back to Santa. My dad keeps referring to the elf as "the snitch" but Margaret named him "Red". Red goes to see Santa every night, and then comes back in the morning and finds a new place to sit. Margaret has found this daily search for Red to be VERY exciting. And it is sweet to watch. I think it will be a fun tradition.
The other Christmas tradition that we have around here is pulling out the Holiday Books and reading them together. And that means another year of "The Christmas Miracle of Jonathan Toomey"
Oh my goodness. Have you read this book? I first read it when I was a nanny. And I couldn't make it all the way through without sobbing. Now that I have a child, it is even more effective. I have to trade off reading with Kevin, to make it through the whole thing. But this year, we were both going through the kleenex. And Maggie just sat there rolling her eyes. And my mom and dad sat there watching and laughing at us the whole time. (actually, my dad teared up, too --sap!) A photo was taken. We hammed it up a little (but not much)
As a resident and voter in California, I was overjoyed on November 4th when Obama was elected as president. But there was a cloud that darkened my spirits on that happy day -- the passage of Proposition 8. This Proposition outlawed same sex marriage. Millions and millions of dollars (much of the money coming from the Mormon church in Utah) were spent in favor of or in opposition to the passage of this law. Before it was passed though, 18,000 same sex couples were married in California. People with families. People with dreams. People who love each other. And now Ken Starr is fighting to dissolve their unions, too. Why?
I have never been a horse girl. You know what I am talking about...one of those girls who wanted a horse, who dreamed about horses and drew pictures of them for hours on end, who had plastic horses with silky manes to brush and braid. No. Ewww.
But Maggie likes horses. And she got a ginormous horse from my parents for Christmas. Okay. Not THAT big...but big enough to not on fit in our packed luggage, and to have to be carried on the plane home. Which made for a very funny looking carry on bag. One with a tail protruding from the side.
Anyway, she loves it. Of course. She named the horse "Black" and combs his hair, and places random items on his head and pretends like he is wearing a hat made out of a slipper. Or whatever.
Two weeks ago, we had a family movie night. We watched "Black Beauty". I never read that book as a child. No interest. And I had never seen the movie. I just thought, you know, a movie about a horse -- Maggie will love it. Ughhhh. It was the MOST depressing movie, ever! I mean, she did like it, but sheesh! The crappy life the poor horse had to endure! It went on and on! A near drowning, a fire, being sold repeatedly, being beaten until left for dead, watching his friend get carted away on a death wagon, etc, etc...Two full hours of sadness. And then, in the end, (spoiler alert) Black Beauty is reunited with his beloved childhood owner. And... I sobbed. What the?
I figured I was just hormonal. But THEN, last weekend, we watched another horse movie, "The Black Stallion" which I totally have vivid memories of watching as a child. I was captivated by this movie. So I was so excited to watch it with Maggie.
She couldn't have cared less. No kidding. No taste, that kid! She prefers Blues Clues to the Black Stallion! So I put her to bed, and Kevin and I stayed up late watching the rest. And along came the ending, and Alec and the Black Stallion are in the big horse race. The odds are against them. No one believes they can do it. The Stallion gets an injury, and they are far behind. But then -- we are transported back to the island -- Alec is riding bareback, with his arms outstreched, and the horse's mane is flying in the wind. Hoorah -- they win the race! And, well, I think you probably know my reaction...
And I felt so stupid! Sitting there, with tears streaming down my face. I mean -- I don't even LIKE horses! I felt manipulated. Or weak. Or sappy. So I started yelling at the TV -- "I don't care about horses! I would eat a horse! I voted to eat a horse in California! WHAT is wrong with me????" Oh, I was so mad. I just felt like such a sap and a half. Also, what added insult to injury, was that I was dabbing away at my bloodshot, blubbering eyes with these (note to self, do NOT have this box of tissues nearby when any sort of sobfest occurs. They cause serious eye pain. You have been warned.)
This weekend -- we are SO not gonna watch a horse movie. I am putting my foot down. We have "Babe" (the one about the sheep herding pig) that I have rented from the library. Oh gosh. I just sort of remembered the uplifting, "be true to yourself" message in that movie. And the line "That'll do, Pig." Oh, I am tearing up right now! Where are my non eucalypus soaked tissues??!
The other day Kevin and Maggie and I were sitting in a neighborhood restaurant eating lunch. I was in a totally happy, content mood. I was not feeling weepy in the slightest. We had just gone to see the local Silent Film Museum in Niles Canyon and Kevin and I were talking about the fragility of film back in the old days. He was sharing with me some information he had read about how flammable the actual film strips used to be and how they could catch on fire at a moment's notice. I said, "yeah, I know, remember when that happened in Cinema Paradiso?" No. He didn't remember. He insisted he had seen the film, but could not remember that scene. So I started to try and refresh his memory and tell him about it.
I started with the little fatherless boy Toto who loved Alfredo, the film projector operator at the local Cinema. I interspersed the descriptions with spirited reinactments of Toto yelling "Alfredo, Alfredo!" Nope. He still couldn't remember.
So I went on to the scene when Alfredo gets stuck in the film projector room and there is a fire from the ignited film strips that will surely kill him, but the little boy comes in and saves the man's life ("Alfredo Alfredo!") by dragging him down the stairs and out into the square. But then Alfredo is blind. And can no longer work at the one job he loves.
By this time in the telling, I was totally sobbing. Right there in the restaurant. Maggie was like "Mommy? Is Mommy okay?" Kevin had to assure her that I was just happy. Happy remembering a movie I really liked. But that he STILL couldn't remember.
So THEN I was like, "Don't you even remember the ending? Oh God, the ending!" I had to reach over to another table to grab a new napkin. Mine by this point was soaked with tears.
"Toto grows up and moves away and becomes a big shot film director, and when Alfredo dies, Toto is too busy to go to the funeral, but Alfredo leaves him one last movie in his will..." I couldn't even go on. I was laughing and crying and was really more than a little undone. Other diners were starting to stare.
"And Toto watches it and it is a movie of all of the kiss scenes that the Italian Priest made Alfredo edit out over the years. Just one kiss after another, and Toto sits there and watches and smiles and cries and it is so wonderful. DON"T YOU REMEMBER NOW???!!!" I think I may have had a hysterical screetch to my voice.
"Hmmmm," said Kevin,"I guess I never did see that movie..."
Arghhhhh! Hopefully you, dear blog reader HAVE seen the movie, and I haven't completely ruined it for you. No, but really, it is good even if you know the ending. Go out and rent it. And make sure you have plenty of kleenex.
Last night Maggie informed me that she really wanted to see "that movie" again. "That movie with the little girl. You know that movie? "
Hmmmm, lots of Disney movies fit that description. A name might help....
"Oh," said Maggie, suddenly remembering the title, "it's called Lilo and Bitch."
"What is it called?"
"Lilo and Bitch."
Alright. I am pretty sure she is talking about this movie. But wouldn't it be funny if that were the name of a Disney movie?
In other Disney news...Kevin and I saw this movie over the weekend. I was prepared to hate it because that is how I like to go into Disney films -- all grouchy and grumpy and full of resentment because they rule the world and manipulate my feelings. But dammit -- they got me. The plot line made me cry. And not just a teeny tiny tear trickling down my cheek. No, this was a full on sob bursting from within. Kevin had to go get the kleenex box for me! Good Lord. What is wrong with me? I am such a sap. All that stuff about loyalty and friendship -- it gets me EVERY time.
Harumppph. Next time I am going to see if I can rent Lilo and Bitch instead.
