Family Movie Night - A Dysfunctional Saga

Gratitude Challenge - Week 3 - Family

This post is a little late, but I had oral surgery a week ago to remove my wisdom teeth. Although it was successful, I could not even get off the couch, let alone write a blog. Plus, my pain medication made me dizzy and loopy! I spent the week binge-watching Downton Abbey (nerdy, I know).

However, this is not the only excuse for this late post. I honestly could not think of anything to say about my family. Of course, I could do the "they love and support me always" sort of thing, but I could not bring myself to write that nonsense. Here goes my attempt at originality.

I live with my mom, my dad, and my younger brother. Based on appearances alone, we are the "perfect" middle class American family. Boy, is that deceiving! We are certainly dysfunctional in our own way.

As a family, we often watch movies, gathering in the family room nearly every weekend, and sometimes twice, to see whatever movie we chose together. That is, until recently.

My brother, being the teenage boy he is, expressed his newfound interest in R-rated action and horror films. My mom prefers feel-good movies. I am partial to historical films and films based on books, along with the occasional pop culture blockbuster (e.g., Pitch Perfect). As for my dad, he just wants us all to be happy.

The inevitable conflict arose, and instead of spending a Saturday in late May with our usual movie night, we all sulked due to our inability to compromise. This may seem trivial, but it actually caused a considerable amount of tension.

Long story short, we now rotate whose movie choice it is, and we cannot berate each other's choices.

So, last night, my mom chose to watch Woman in Gold. Starring Helen Mirren, the movie details the true story of Maria Altmann, a Jewish Austrian whose family paintings were stolen by the Nazis in World War II. After 60 years, Ms. Altmann enlists the help of a family-friend lawyer, played by Ryan Reynolds, to fight the Austrian government to obtain her rightful property.

It was a fantastic movie, and one particular scene struck a chord with me. As an elderly woman, Maria experiences a flashback to her escape from the Nazis, who force her to leave her elderly parents behind. She barely escapes to Cologne and then to America. Their parting is painful, for both Maria and her parents know they will never see each other again. Tears welled up in my eyes, and I am usually not a crier.

It was then that I realized how much I take my parents for granted. This week, while I was couch-bound with a gauze-filled mouth, my mom gave up yoga class and catered to my every whim to make sure I was okay. My dad went grocery shopping nearly every day to provide me with a variety of liquid foods; he knew I would quickly grow tired of milkshakes. I love them dearly, even when my teenage angst occasionally erupts.

As for my brother, he is my best and truest friend. Despite our vast differences - he likes hard rock while I prefer indie and classical - we manage to always have each other's backs. We only have one more year together; he will be a freshman while I am a senior. I vow to savor every moment.

Thank goodness for my crazy, dysfunctional, but intensely loving family; without them, I would be nowhere.