Movie Memories

Today, I’ve been dealing with the huge pile of laundry from our Thanksgiving trip to Dothan. Yes, I know that I’ve been home for 4 days now and should already have it done and put away, but Christmas decorating has pretty much demanded a monopoly of my time since I’ve been home. Well, a combination of decorating, spraining my ankle, and dealing with a sweet little girl who got spoiled rotten visiting her family over the holiday. Anyway, back to the laundry… I have to get myself pumped up when I have a pile of laundry waiting that is as tall as I am, so to do that I sometimes watch a movie while I work. I recently acquired a collection of (and I consider them priceless) “Classic Drama”‘s from a man in China. Doesn’t that sound intriguing! Really I just bought them on ebay for $15. So, I pulled out my priceless collection, sifted through them and settled on Jane Eyre.

Now, all of my new movies are the BBC versions, but some have a higher quality than others. Jane Eyre happened to be one of what Jeremiah would call a “low budget” movie, but the story is still there in all its touching beauty. I went down to the cold basement, looked at all that laundry, and still found myself literally unable to catch my breath as my excitement tried to jump out of my throat. I thought, “Who would have ever imagined I could get this excited about doing the laundry!” As I relished each poorly filmed second and tried to focus on the task in front of me, I wondered if I would ever be able to share this joy with Pace. What if she doesn’t enjoy reading? What if we are complete opposites? That happens a lot I suppose, and if that’s the case, then I’ll have to appreciate her differences. However, I look into her eyes and I see so much of myself there. I don’t know why. It’s not in her physical appearance, or even in her mannerisms, but something in her heart that I know we share. Maybe one day we can curl up on the couch together, and I can explain to her all the little details about Jane Eyre that the movie is leaving out. Maybe I will teach her about loving others through the example of Jane’s mean cousins. Maybe I will be able to smile knowingly while she wonders what the mystery is upstairs.

I remember being about 9 years old, and going to Movie Gallery with mom to pick out a movie on Friday night. I guess she must have cajoled me over into the classics section, because we came across the “real people” version of Cinderella. Mom was astonished that I had never seen it before and insisted that it be our choice. As we sat down to watch, I must say I remember thinking that the Disney version was more entertaining. However, I was enthralled by the feeling of watching something that my MOM had watched when she was a GIRL–like me. Cinderella starting singing, “In my own little corner, in my own little chair, I can be whatever I want to be…” and Mom recalled how she used to try and sit in her own little corner and pretend she was Cinderella. Needless to say, it became one of MY favorite movies, just because I knew it had been one of Mom’s favorites. I pray that Pace and I will share some of the same appreciation and the same loves. Maybe she’ll never want to cuddle up and watch Jane Eyre…but I believe she will.