Together on Tuesday: Books, TV, Movies

This "Together on Tuesday" post has really had me thinking.  Danielle at "My Peaches and Cream" and I decided to write about a book, movie or television show we have recently seen or read that impacted us in some way or another.  For me, the easiest book and movie I could write about would be "The Hunger Games" by Suzanne Collins.  I've read all three books in the series, and recently went to see the movie.  The books consumed me entirely while I was reading them.  It was all I could think about, and all I wanted to do was to read them until I finally reached the very end.  That being said, I'm not sure I want to really devote an entire post to them because I feel like everyone is talking about them and knows about them now.  So, I tried to think about what the last book I read was, and frankly, I can't remember.  It was either "Something Blue" by Emily Giffin or "Persuasion" by Jane Austin.  Although I found both books to be enjoyable,  I don't think either book left enough of an impression on me to write more than a couple of sentences about the impact they have had on my life.  I did read a few great titles over the summer, such as: "Water For Elephants" by Sara Gruen, "The Help" by Kathryn Stockett, and "Sarah's Key" written by Tatiana de Rosnay.

I thought "Sarah's Key" would be the most obvious choice because not many people have probably heard about it or read it.  It is a fictional novel written about a historical event that occurred in France in 1942.  The main character, Julia Jaramond is a journalist covering the anniversary of the "Vel' d'Hiv'" round up of Jewish families in Paris.  I'm not going to launch into a history lesson of this event, but it was something that did actually happen and is not widely known about.  I enjoyed this novel immensely.  It is a page turner.  Julia is not only searching for clues to find out about the events that occurred during this time, but also trying to solve her own personal marriage and family problems.  She also discovers she has a personal connection to one of the survivors of the Vel' d' Hiv.'  This discovery propels her to dig deeper in her investigation, and along the way she learns a lot about herself.  It's a great book that is both interesting and entertaining. 

So, that should be the end of the post right? Well, not really.  This is me we are talking about here.  While "Sarah's Key" is a book worthy of an entire post, it's not really what I wanted to write about when this subject came up.  It's kind of ironic because I am such a big "reader" and I love talking to people about recent reads, but the thing I really wanted to write about in this post was a recent episode of "Private Practice" that really moved me.  Yes, I watch "Private Practice" on ABC.  It's a spin off of Grey's Anatomy, and I have found that I am enjoying it  more than Grey's lately. I'm not going to launch into the details of the show other than to say that it's about a bunch of doctors from different medical fields that came together to form a practice to help individuals dealing with problems all across the board. 

The episode entitled "The Letting Go" is the one that had me crying like a baby at the end.  I mean serious waterworks people.  I'm getting ahead of myself here.  Let's back up.  Okay, so, I'm Catholic.  I try not to throw my religion or my religious opinions around too much on this blog because I'm not here to judge or be judged by others.  That being said, it's Lent right now, and I've been having a hard time with it this year.  For some reason, my resolve has gone out the window.  I am not sure why, but I just have no desire or motivation this year to stick with what I have given up or what I set out to over come during this Lenten season.  I don't want to say my attitude has been one of sarcasm, maybe just one of indifference.  This is not usually who I am-and I don't think it is who I am becoming.  I just feel like I'm in some sort of rut-or I was until I saw this show.  I'm normally a very thankful, humble person.  I know that I have a good life.  I know that I am blessed to have my good health, healthy kids and spouse. I know that we do not want for anything that is necessary to survive or to live comfortably.  I realize that my family is so blessed to be able to take the trips we go on, and the events we get to participate in.  I'm so thankful for all of that.  I do not take any of it for granted-EVER.  I also carry a lot of guilt about the money we do have, and how to spend it.  I'm not saying we are financially wealthy by any means.  I've always had a certain guilt about spending money-or over spending.  I am frugal (read: can be borderline cheapskate).  I guess all of this guilt and what not I carry around about spending money has sort of overwhelmed me to the point that I shut it off during this Lent season.  Things that normally would make me emotional or move me to pray just seem to bounce right off of me instead of touching my heart. Then, I saw this episode of "Private Practice." 

One of the characters, Erica had some sort of brain tumor.  She ended up having this lifesaving miracle surgery that got rid of the tumor, and everything was all sunshine and rainbows.  This character, Erica, also has a son, Mason.  He's about 8-10 years old.  They chose not to tell Mason about the brain tumor until Erica was having this miracle surgery that would either kill her or save her life.  You can imagine how upset Mason was about being left in the dark.  See, it's only been Mason and Erica for most of his life.  His dad just came into the picture, and while he has a good relationship with his father, it's still a pretty new one.  His mom was his rock, his anchor in this life.  Well, guess what? Erica's miracle surgery didn't work.  Her disease had spread to all of her other organs.  She had only about a week to live, and she was going to deteriorate quickly.  Erica couldn't stand the thought of having Mason watch her go through that, so she decided to say good bye to him before she passed. It was so hard to watch that little boy trying to be strong when saying goodbye to his mother.  He did his best not to cry until he left her hospital room.  Cue the freakin' waterworks people.  I mean come on-seriously? The goodbye was almost too hard for me to watch.  I literally felt like the Grinch when his heart grows three times it's size.  Something in size of me cracked, and I was able to snap out of this rut that I've been in.  Like I said, I am thankful for what I have in this life.  I love my family. My kids and husband are everything to me.  I know what's important to me.  I just needed something to bring me out of the guilt that can sometimes overwhelm me.  At times I feel like I can get bogged down into my own small trivial problems, and I don't look around to see the bigger picture.   Well, my eyes are open again  

Don't forget to find out what has Danielle inspired over at "My Peaches and Cream."