Tag: movies

I read something yesterday that struck me as very important. It was the question, “Is your soul begging for attention?” Our Soul’s siblings, Mind and Body are loud. They like a lot of attention and they know how to go about getting it. Our Soul sits quietly in the background, like a small, smoldering fire, that is just asking for some kindling and some stoking, to keep it alive and fiery and full of color and energy. Our Soul begs for attention through deep yearnings and leanings and our intuition. Our Soul is always trying to guide us to our life’s purposes, and to our strongest inborn talents and our most innate pleasures.

Early in March, when it became evident that the coronavirus was here to stay and that we would have to quarantine, we called the college boys home, we called our grown son, more than ever, and we called on all six of us, to make the best of a strange, scary situation. It was during these early days of the pandemic, that I heard my Soul begging for my attention. I needed to find a calming, group activity, that my entire family and I, could look forward to sharing together. With very limited options, I came up with “Family Movie Night”. Every Thursday night, one member of our immediate family would pick a movie for all of us to watch together (keeping the choice secret until the 8:00 pm start time) and then, we would discuss the film afterwards. Even my grown son, would watch the same movie, at the same time, and then Facetime with all of us afterwards. My family delighted me with their participation, their kindness, their enthusiasm, and their creativity. My daughter took things to a whole new level when she started decorating to the theme of her chosen movies, with coordinating snacks and goodies. I am the goofy, emotional, book/film nerd of my family and I think, at first, everyone went along with my idea because frankly, there wasn’t much else to do, and they love me and they like to please me. But as time went on, everyone seemed to look forward to “Family Movie Night”, more and more. We all got to see movies which we might have never chosen to watch, but ended up loving and appreciating; we got reacquainted with some really excellent old classics; and we got a lot of cuddle time on our large, semi-circle couch. My soul adored and relished in the attention.

Still, sometimes even really, really good things must come to an end. Everything has its season. With everything opening up more, and the college boys heading back to their campus lives, my daughter’s high school classes about to begin, and my husband’s and my eldest son’s work schedules getting back to a busier fall pace, the time has come for the Grand Finale of “Family Movie Night.” Tonight, I will host the last of nineteen Movie Nights, held in a row.

It’s a strange feeling to feel nostalgia and melancholy about something that hasn’t even ended yet. I knew that I would have to be the one to “officially” close out this chapter in our family’s history. No one else would have the heart to officially mark the end of “Family Movie Night”, but there would be individual excuses to bow out, and the tradition would fizzle and trinkle away, crowded out by penciled up calendars, and needed attention to other activities and obligations and priorities. I honestly didn’t want this tradition to go out, in the way of an aged-out athlete or an oblivious, elder business owner, who can’t move on, nor accept change, thus creating a whole lot of awkwardness and uncomfortable feelings, for everyone involved. I wanted everyone in my family to feel okay about the normal and natural progression of change in life. I didn’t want any guilt or discomfort to be part of what was otherwise. a wonderful memory and enjoyable experience for our family. That’s my job as a mom, right? Our job as mothers, is to nurture our babies so much, that they feel absolutely secure and confident about leaving our nests, and trailblazing their own paths in life. Our job is to make sure that they are paying attention to their Souls. And we do this by being wayshowers. When we pay attention to our own Soul’s yearnings, our children learn to do this for themselves.

I have the Grand Finale movie chosen for tonight. It is still a secret. I haven’t seen the film myself, so it might end up being a bomb, but my family gets a lot of laughs out of the “bombs”, too, so I’m not worried. It will be a good night. It will be a good ending to a great experience. It’s time to close this small chapter out, in the life of our family. I can’t wait to see what comes next for us. If I listen real closely, I know that my Soul will guide me to the next, right thing.