Antepartum

On Monday, I dropped my basket.

I love that expression.  I got it from “Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood.”  It means “I lost my marbles.”  Before I had kids, I used to picture that I had this lovely, round, hand-woven basket that held my sanity and every so often I would drop it and have to pick up the pieces.  Nowadays I picture a ginormous laundry basket filled with all my separate identities: mother, wife, full-time public school teacher, Girl Scout leader, Tae Kwon Do cheerleader, tee-ball coach, writer, homework helper (the list goes on and on) and I had that laundry basket resting ever so gently on my 39 week pregnant belly.  It’s really no wonder that I dropped it.  I felt bad.  I always feel bad about dropping my basket, but this time I knew better than to load the whole thing up again.  I decided to start my maternity leave early and I’m pretty proud of myself for making that decision.  I haven’t always been so wise about not packing my basket so full.

The truth is, I love being busy.  Even when I gripe about it, it’s what drives me.  But I’ve learned to be particular about what new things I add to the list because it’s a delicate balance between “driven” and “driven crazy.”

Anyway, nothing cheers me up like a movie of the “old favorite” variety.  I’m not a movie buff, more of a bookworm, but when I’m down and out, a movie is what I turn to.  What I look for in a movie is good writing, and so my favorite filmmakers are those that write their own screenplays and produce and/or direct their own stuff to preserve their writing.  My favorites are John Hughes, Kevin Smith, Amy Heckerling, George Lucas, Gurinder Chadha, and Tina Fey.  

After my beloved John Hughes passed away (may God rest his soul), I revisited all my old favorite John Hughes movies and wrote about them on my Facebook page.  I learned a lot by doing it and some of my friends seemed to enjoy what I had to say.  The stories you love, whether they are in cinematic, musical, or literary form, say something about the person you are, the person you have been, and the person you are forever trying to become.  They reflect your dreams and passions, your innermost feelings, and our collective memory.  If you find someone who loves the same stories as you, you have found a “kindred spirit” and share an instant bond.

And so, even though I’m not yet postpartum, let the movies commence!