What you may want to watch... Maybe...

OK, so I am backlogged on an entire month+ of events that I will get to shortly. I just wanted to share some things I recommend viewing. Netflix is my best friend. It is cheap and I get to see tons of movies I wouldn't otherwise. I like movies, so this is a good thing for me, especially as we don't have TV.

On to the things you should see:

Number 1:


John Adams (The HBO miniseries)

Being that I love Revolutionary War and colonial history, I was very interested in seeing this. Admittedly, I didn't know as much as I thought I did about Adams. This was well written, well acted, everything you expect. It really left me wanting more. I actually was pretty sad when it was over. I had no more story to look forward to. It, of course, ends when he dies so there is not much left to show. Seriously though, I loved it. I have actually started reading the David McCullough book it was based on.


Number 2:


The Women

No, not the new one. I haven't seen it yet, but I can guess now that I probably won't like it. It didn't get great reviews, but I will give it a try. No, no, I am talking about the 1939 George Cukor classic. I watched it again recently and one of the tings that I really love about it is that, unusually for the time, there were no men in the film. At all. But there is a cast of wonderful female actors in their prime, Norma Shearer, Rosalind Russell, Joan Crawford, to, quite literally, name a few. It is a true comedy gem. Yes, there are some odd cultural things, but I think it has stood the test of time!


Number 3:


Bleak House (The Masterpiece miniseries)

I thought this was a pretty good adaptation of the Dickens novel. It is one of his lesser known works and it is different from his other works. The multiple story lines weaving in and out are intriguing and make for a rather suspenseful watch. Be careful of the many plot twists in the story. I love the portrayal of Esther. Spot on. You won't be disappointed!


Number 4:


Slumdog Millionaire

I think I may be the last person on Earth to see this film. I quite enjoyed the unique approach to the story. Heartbreaking and heartwarming all at once. What more could a girl ask for?


Number 5:


Not One Less

A Chinese film by the director of the haunting "Raise the Red Lantern." This film is decidedly more upbeat, but still there is a bit of heartrending sadness in it. A 13 year old girl is hired to substitute a class of younger children for a month. The teacher admonishes her that there should not be "one less" student when he returns. She struggles with her new role and when a boy leaves to work in the city in order to pay for his family debts, she goes after him and tries everything she can think of to get him back. A very subtle film with a happy ending.



As an aside, the lead actress, crazily enough, attended BYU-Hawaii.



Number 7:


Miss Pettigrew Lives For a Day

This film was different than I had expected. Better, actually. I wouldn't consider it to be brilliant film making, but it was quite charming and a sweet little story about how two women unexpectedly change each others' lives over the course of a single day.


I think I may have forgotten something, but I think 7 is a good number to end at. I will be back soon. As long as I don't melt in this heat! Whew!

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It's Grandma!

When Cecily saw this picture, she said quite distinctly, "It's Grandma!"

Yes, in Hollywood, age doesn't seem to apply much anymore (at least in certain circumstances) and Sheryl Crow looks great and very happy as a new (ish) mom. And yet, I couldn't help thinking that Cecily was partially right. Crow, at age 45, adopted this sweet little boy. An age at which, well, she certainly could have been a grandmother.



This is also not to mention that my own mother had me when she was in her 40s. It is hard for me to imagine the energy it must have taken my mother to work full time as an administrator, while also being a mother to 6 kids (four of which were 6 and under). I have discovered, very distinctly, how much I am not like my mother. Heck, I am tired and stressed enough having only two. Despite being a "young (fun) mom" I feel run into the ground every day of the week. Age is not everything!

I think my mom must have felt, from time to time, how different her situation was. Imagine the time I came home from school and told her that she was the same age as many of my classmates' grandparents. I bet she felt good about that, right?

Things have changed a bit. The average age of a first time mom has gone up. Even among our LDS circle, I am the youngest mom (at least comparing mothers of 2 and 3 year olds). Even still, it doesn't feel too strange. I am not too far off. Plus many people are having kids well into their 40s. There is no longer a "set" age for these stages of life. They very so greatly.

Maybe by my 40s I will be a grandmother, and I will probably look it according to Cecily's standards, but being a mother to a toddler? Probably not, I don't have that much energy.




PS: I think my mother has always looked younger than her years. The comparison to Sheryl Crow certainly agrees with what I have always thought.

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