After the kids went to bed tonight instead of tackling the great number of things on my to do list, I walked straight into my bedroom and turned on the TV for a little rest.
Little did I know that my attention would be captured by two very different but moving movies on the AFN movie channel tonight and I wouldn’t leave the room for another four hours.
The movie that had just started before I turned on the TV was The Family Stone with Sarah Jessica Parker.
I’m not necessarily a Sarah Jessica Parker fan and I really don’t highly recommend this movie in particular, but it did capture my attention enough for me to stay and watch.
Maybe I was just too tired to move at the end of the day.
The Family Stone is labeled as a “dramedy” which I guess is a cross between a drama and a (romantic?) comedy.
I am normally a huge fan of this genre of movies, but after watching this, I have a new rule for myself…..I CANNOT watch dramedies until Keith comes home.
At the conclusion of the story, everyone ended up with their perfect person.
But my perfect person is in Iraq.
I was left feeling a little empty.
So, I had a little cry and decided to watch the next movie….maybe it would cheer me up.
Well…HA! Maybe not.
The next movie showing was The Wool Cap, a cable movie that originally showed in 2004.
It was a really touching story of a broken man who forges a bond with and takes in a little girl abandoned by her drug addict mother.
I cried major tears while watching this one. I think my entire face was swollen by the end. To say that I had a catharsis would pretty much be an understatement.
Watching The Wool Cap did make me think though. It made me think about my life and how all too often I take my calling to be a mom and to minister to my own children for granted.
When I was in college I went on a couple of mission trips to the inner city of Washington, D.C. It was satisfying to love on the needy children there.
Also in college, I spent time volunteering at the local children’s shelter for abused and neglected children. Those kids touched my heart in so many ways. I will carry the faces of some of them in my memory forever. I ached for them. It was such a joy to spend time playing with them. I looked forward to it every week.
Before I became a mom, I taught special education. Every year except one I taught at the same school and in the same classroom. I had a middle school self-contained classroom, which means that I had students of varying “disabilities” from three different grades (6-8) that I taught every subject. Well, except for the fine arts, they went out for that.
For the most part, I excelled in this profession. I was even named Teacher of the Year. Can you tell I’m still proud of that??
Those students were my ministry. Many of them came from broken homes. They needed love. They needed someone to care enough to teach them. They needed structure, routine, and discipline. I gave them that because it was my calling.
Now I am the mom of three small children.
I take care of their needs day and night.
Some days feel monotonous.
And tedious.
I get tired.
And I forget my calling.
Watching the character in The Wool Cap determinedly find a way to care for a little girl in need reminded me that I have three beautiful children living with me that are in need of me as well.
They need me to love on them as I did those inner-city children in our nation’s capitol.
They need me to ache for them and play with them as I did with those children in the children’s shelter.
They need me to love them, to care enough to teach them, and to provide structure, routine, and discipline for them as I did for the students in my special education classroom.
And they need so much more.
It is my calling to do those things.
It is my calling to minister to my children with every ounce of my being.
I am so thankful for the reminder I had of that calling tonight. A reminder that came in the unexpected form of a drama on AFN.
Kerri says
Monica, I made the mistake of watching the movie “Up Close and Personal” right after my husband deployed somewhere in the Great SandBox. I cried buckets and just prayed that he would come home safely! I’m a teacher, too….and I just wrote a note on my blog earlier this week about how weary I was, learning the balance of giving 200% and not growing tired of doing good. Thanks for your post tonight~ I had to laugh about AFN, too. When we first lived in Germany, AFN was one channel! This past time of living in Germany — wow…many channels!!
Wendy Darling says
((((((((Monica)))))))))))
I can’t say that I know how you feel, because I’ve never been married, much less to someone who is away serving their country for so long. However, sometimes watching those kinds of movies makes me feel very lonely just the same.
I thank you both for sacrificing your time together for us, and the other soldiers your husband ministers to. 🙂 Thank you. 🙂
I also used to teach public school at our alternative school. It was because of what I learned there that I chose to homeschool my nephew. I ached for those kids, knowing what a lot of them went home to. I swore that would never happen in our family. So far, God has blessed us, and used us to raise our nephew. 🙂
I remember seeing the Wool Cap. I cried my eyes out.
Tanya says
Great blog, Monica! I am not a stay at home mom so I seem to struggle daily with how to meet the needs of my job (teacher) while being a mom, teacher, witness, playmate, etc to my own two children. Your blog will help me remember on those days that I come home worn out from loving and teaching my students, my own kids deserve the same 110% that I gave during the day no matter how tired I may be. Thanks for the reminder!
LifeAtTheCircus says
Another beautiful post Monica… I love that you share your heart so openly with us. It really makes me feel connected to you, as if we are in fact friends (which I am convinced we would be if we lived in the same town):-)
It is amazing how powerful movies can be. We watched The Pursuit of Happyness last night. My heart was so heavy all night and I was in tears at several points, and again today as I was “writing a post in my head.” I plan to share my thoughts on it sometime this week. I haven’t had a chance to organize them all yet after bearing my soul this afternoon already.
Jennifer Scruggs says
Thank you for sharing! I have been sick and now the kids are sick, and even though Jerry is here with us, I still get WORN OUT being a mom. I too, forget the calling. Thanks for the reminder!!
You are in my prayers!!! 🙂
In HIM– Jenn
Stacy Owings says
Stay away from the dramedies! I cry at the drop of a hat at movies. Can’t watch E.T., Old Yeller, any war-themed movie, Nicholas Sparks-book-adapted-to-movie, or any Lifetime movie. I cry buckets and it takes me a long time to get over it. When you move back to South Carolina we can have happy movie girl dates.