Personal
Yesterday was a big day for Twitter (the cat, not the service):
She became a woman… or perhaps more accurately it was assured she will not become a woman. Luckily, for the vet, she has apparently come out of it undrunken, energetic, and very much like herself.
With an added funny taste in headwear.
Figures.
Movies were a big part of life with DJ. When he was an infant Pudding and I would bring him to the matinee showings of the latest releases, and with a pair of ear muffs on he’d snuggle in his carrier to watch or sleep through the latest action packed movie. Going to the movies in Pennsylvania was a big deal, because we did it very rarely. Finally, the fact a movie theater opened up across the street made the winter weekends fly by with buckets of popcorn, Twizzlers with nacho cheese, and over sized sodas he would use both hands to pick up as we were sucked out of a seemingly mundane existence and into fantastical new worlds.
DJ was a big fan of Shrek, along with Monsters Inc., Spider-Man, and Hellboy. He, like his father, was also a huge Star Wars fan and it was not uncommon to watch Attack of the Clones on television before going to see Revenge of the Sith… which we saw in theaters a whopping 5 times.
Today is the release of the fourth Shrek movie. I’m not going to be seeing it.
Probably not ever.
I prefer to think that the last one DJ saw, Shrek the Third, was the last one. Otherwise it causes a punch to my gut thinking that he missed out on a Shrek experience.
Maybe I’m wrong for feeling that way… but that’s just the way I feel.
I prefer to remember my Shrek times with DJ as the good times they were…
… as opposed to sitting in a theater surrounded by a gazillion people and still feeling alone.
Ogres aren’t the only ones like onions, dontcha know?
Mother is the name for God on the lips and hearts of all children.
-Eric Draven, The Crow 1994
Today I’d like to take a moment to wish all the Mammas a Happy Mother’s Day!
Especially my kittay Momma…
And of course the woman who ripped me from the warmth of her insides into this hard cruel world…
Happy Mother’s Day!!!
Growing up, DJ was part of a big family. He has three brothers and a sister in addition to his uncle, grandparents, and various cousins. Sometimes I forget about that little part of him, being part of them… or perhaps I should say so many of them. Of course, there is a bond with them now, one I would prefer not to have but a bond none the less.
I’m not the only one who misses DJ daily.
Knowing that… well… it is a bit comforting knowing that I’m not alone… and neither is he.
categories: Personal Memories Remembering DJ
It always comes back to the cinema, or so it seems. DJ and I would go to the movies together all the time. It was often our own private sanctuary from the world outside… where I was being demanded to provide for a broken household and where he was being demanded to become more independent quickly. Once that piece of paper had been handed in, he could act his age… and I could act his age. I tend to think that I won our more on that deal, but he did get to eat a large popcorn by himself… even if it took him two days to do it.
Yesterday, Poppy and I traveled out to New Jersey to take the Wolves to see Diary of a Wimpy Kid. The book has a bit of special meaning, because I had bought it for the Professor back in 2007 soon after DJ was lost to us. I’ll admit it, I read the book and really enjoyed it. I like to think it helped him as he transitioned from one school to another and from being 1 of 5 to 1 of 4.
The movie itself was a really great translation from the book, including the drawing style that had made the book so rich and unique. It’s the kind of film that I would rank up there with Sixteen Candles and The Breakfast Club. It’s not really the Diary of a Wimpy Kid as much as it is the Diary of Every Kid, whether they want to admit it or not.
There was one part of the movie where I felt myself blown away by the philosophical truth in the statement. In an attempt to remain spoiler free, it comes from the main characters mother when they are discussing choices and whether or not the main character should do something or not do something.
She says something along the lines of, “The choices you make are what defines you for the rest of your life.”
It’s so obvious. So simple. So true.
Add on “and will shape the lives of those around you” and there would be the true meaning of life.
If it weren’t already 42, that is.
And when I walked out of that theater it really had me thinking… and a wave of sadness descended upon me because I don’t think DJ realized how important he was to me. I don’t think he realized how he shaped my life for the better. I hope that the next time we meet, I’ll have the chance to not only tell him… but to show him.
