Unwinding

I had a rough week last week. A very rough week. One that culminated in a particularly stressful day Friday. By the end of the day, I just wanted to crash and forget all about it. After we got the kids in bed, I sent B out for pizza and ice cream to drown my sorrows (yes, I know this is neither healthy nor an appropriate coping mechanism). He came back with two types of Ben and Jerry's plus mini Dove bars. I love that man!

We sat down to watch a movie while we ate. As we're scrolling through the free movie titles on On Demand, I say, "I want to watch something light and fun tonight." We come across My Girl and B says, "That's a cute movie. I think you'll like it." I was a little skeptical when I read the description: "A young girl coping with the death of her mother during childbirth." How "light and fun" can that be? "It was cute," he assures me again. After all, Dan Aykroyd is in it. It can't be too serious, can it? I'm thinking Ghostbusters, Trading Places, Spies Like Us. So we proceed to watch it. And I'm actually enjoying it; it is "cute" -- that is, until you get to the last 30 minutes or so. All the sudden I hear Brian say, "Oooh. I forgot about this part."

"This part" being where the heroine's beloved childhood playmate is attacked and killed by a swarm of bees. How can you forget that part?! This part is heart-wrenching! We're left watching a heartbroken, lonely little girl and a grieving mother burying her only son. I'm bawling on the couch, fighting the urge to go get Jeffrey out of bed so I can hold him.

In his defense, it had been about 15 years since B had seen the movie; and at the time he was a single college guy. I guess these things make a different impression when you're young and unattached than when you're an overtired, emotional mother.

It took nearly the entire carton of Ben and Jerry's to cheer me up, but I think I'm ok now.