Tag: Jennifer Aniston

In Session

My daughter and I watched a movie called The Switch, the other night. It featured Jennifer Aniston and Jason Bateman. I love both of these actors so I wanted to like the movie more than I did, but it was still a fun, cute watch. Even with movies and books that I don’t particularly like, I usually have some glean of wisdom that sticks with me. There was one line from this movie, that I thought was particularly good.

Jennifer Aniston’s character, in The Switch, has decided that she is ready for a baby, despite the fact that she has not found a suitable partner in life, yet. She is seriously considering artificial insemination. Jennifer quotes a motivational speaker who says, “Life is in session.”

Life is in session.

Now, of course, Jason Bateman , who essentially plays “Jason Bateman” in every role that he has ever had, makes fun of this statement in his usual snarky, sarcastic way. But I personally thought that the statement is spot on. It sticks with me.

Whether we like it or not, Life is in session. It doesn’t stop for us. Today, seems like it is really the official, first day of summer for my family. The official summer schedule has begun. My youngest son, who is still at home, has started his first day of his summer job. My daughter will start her first day of summer volunteering. Her tennis schedule is now switched to summer hours. My husband’s work schedule always seems to change to more of a summer pace right around this time of year, every year. My summer schedule, as many moms can relate to, falls in line with the rest of my family’s agenda.

Life is in session. We are in summer session. Life feels slower, hotter, more relaxed, less scattered. But that is just an illusion. Life is still going on. Life is in session. Am I taking full advantage of this free, challenging, exciting, surprising, interesting course that I have been gifted? That could end at any point? Am I?

Life is in session.

Along Came Throw Pillows

Somethings that I absolutely love in life are throw pillows.  I can’t get enough of them.  I think it would be wonderful to live in piles of throw pillows with a few warm, fuzzy throws and blankets lying around to add to the soft, colorful, wonderfulness of it all.  I’m from Pittsburgh and the last time I was at the Warhol Museum, they exhibited Andy Warhol’s Silver Clouds.  Basically, the exhibit is giant silver Mylar balloons floating around the room as you are walking through it.  It’s magical!  I imagine the same sort of happy effect if you lived in a pile of throw pillows.

There is a scene in the movie, Along Came Polly in which Polly (Jennifer Aniston) decides to liberate Ben Stiller’s character from his routine of removing and storing several expensive, goose-down throw pillows from his bed every night.  They end up taking a knife to the pillows and feathers are flying everywhere.  Ben’s character does the math and realizes that he spends about two days of every year of his life, removing and storing and then replacing these throw pillows on and off of his bed.  Interestingly, if you look up this particular scene on YouTube and then read the comments underneath the scene, there are a lot of others, like me, who get a bit defensive about throw pillows.  My husband would side with Polly on this one.  The few times that we have seen this movie, I notice that he laughs extra loud and hard at this scene and looks at me, pointedly.  He thinks that we have way too many throw pillows.

You can never have enough throw pillows.  They can make an old couch look new.  They add new life to frequently washed bedding.  They decorate furniture for the holidays.  Throw pillows are easier than paint to add a whole new color scheme to your room.  I get moved by throw pillows.  One time we were in Victoria, Canada and I noticed a throw pillow depicting a baby polar bear cub, featured in a shop window.  The shop was closed, but I became obsessed with owning that pillow.  I was at the shop the first thing the next morning and would have taken a later ferry and missed a flight home, just to have that pillow.  It happily perches on a couch in my bedroom to this day.  Throw pillows make for wonderful reminders and souvenirs of happy memories in one’s life!  Throw pillows purchased on vacation are like happiness squared.

I like going into stores like HomeGoods and Pier One Imports, and seeing shelves of throw pillows arranged like a rainbow.  I’m always nervous about pulling one out though, because that usually equates to all of them falling all over the floor.  Maybe that’s how I got my idea of living in a pile of throw pillows.  Throw pillows are an instant hug, softness for life’s edges, and a burst of color when you need it the most.  Don’t you agree???