As we gear up for the kick-off of our 8-day devotional with Transparent Moments, I had the opportunity to watch the movie Otherhood now on Netflix. This movie is an afternoon delight for mothers with older children, and an excellent film for adult children to understand mothers.
I made a social media post about the movie and learned that many moms not only watched it but encouraged their adult children to watch along with them. I’m not surprised by how many moms were transparent in saying which parent they most related to in the movie. I too saw myself. If I were, to be honest, I saw myself in each of the women. Yes, I had one dominate area, but I sat watching, crying, laughing, and saying to myself, “Oh my! I do that!”
Three women, wives, mothers, and long-time friends Angela Bassett as Carol, Patricia Arquette as Gillian, and Felicity Huffman as Helen are empty-nesters who decided on Mother’s Day to take an impromptu road trip to surprise their sons and stay with them for one full week in New York City.
The storyline in the movie hit home for me. I have two adult children. I have a twenty-five-year-old daughter and a thirty-three-year-old son. It’s not that they do not contact me on Mother’s Day or call me often, but I know they do grow tired of me getting into their personal lives on a regular basis. My son has become a pro by not responding to some of my questions. While watching this movie, I thought about both of my children and how I had to step off (back away) from their lives. You can only use the line, “I’m just worried about you in today’s society.” Yes, there’s some truth to that line, but after a while, we end up suffocating them instead of letting go of the fact that they are grown and have their own lives to run.
In the movie, the sons did not visit or contact them on Mother’s Day. Carol (Bassett) for years had sent herself flowers stating they were from her son and even writing a note to herself. This scenario alone had me asking the question, “How many women/moms do things along this line to make themselves feel good, especially around their friends?” Another thought I had was wondering how many women/moms make up stories to feel more significant because they see themselves as insignificant?
As we embark upon these 8-days beginning August 24, 2019, I encourage you to start now asking yourself hard questions to help you begin to tear back the layers that are blocking you from living a fruitful and full life.
In the movie, three women decided it was time for them to tap into who they were as women over fifty and to go after some things they always wanted to do but spent much of their lives doing for their children. I know there are some things I want to do now that my children have left the nest. It’s time for me to do them, and it goes beyond turning their bedrooms into a sitting area for me. What about you? What do you want to do in this life now that you find yourself as an empty-nester?
“Empty-nesting should be something we celebrate as moms!” Tweetable @GailDudley
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Let’s talk. If you do not mind being vulnerable, please join the conversation by answering the following question or any of the questions I have asked within the blog post. Have you ever made up a story to feel more significant after sitting and listening to your friends share their stories? This is a no-judgment zone. Feel free to share. I’m sure you are not alone.
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#WhenYouDontKnowWhatToDo ~ #Live #ExperienceSomethingNew #LifeOfAnEmptyNester
