My Thoughts On "A Simple Favor"
I was just chatting with another mom the other night about how there is a point in time where you simply miss out on movies. Your kids are a certain age or your life is in a certain stage where having the time to grab dinner and movie is all of a sudden complicated. You have to arrange child care and practically double your date night budget because of it. On the off chance that you do get to go to a movie, it absolutely sucks when the movie turns out to be bad.
On the other hand, with so many streaming services available I sometimes get overwhelmed at the options and end up watching the same movies over and over. It's also always been a struggle to find a good family movie to watch all together. Luckily, Disney+ has all but solved that issue.
Still though, the one thing I seem to miss out on are chick flicks. A chick flick will never win against a superhero movie in my house. So, when my husband travels for work you will often find me up late at night catching up on chick flicks and documentaries.
I recently watched the movie "A Simple Favor" on Hulu. It's based on a book by Darcey Bell which made the jump from book to movie in record time. As an aspiring author myself, I think that is pretty awesome. Way to go, Darcey!
In the opening scene, Anna Kendrick's character Stephanie Smothers is flying around her son's classroom for some kind of party. She's taking pictures and appears to actually be enjoying the party while the other parents sit around like bumps on a log. One parent comments, "where does she get all that energy?"
Later, the teacher makes an announcement about a sign up sheet for another event and tells Stephanie, "please don't sign up for more than one job." Stephanie looks surprised but obliges and explains she's taking her name off decorations, but that whoever does do that job can borrow her helium tank. Of course the other parents have some smart aleck remark about her owning a helium tank, like it's some sort of crime to be prepared.
The movie progresses with Stephanie getting close to another mom, Emily Nelson, who in all her fabulosity is very different from Stephanie. Eventually, Emily asks Stephanie for "a simple favor," which is to give her kiddo a ride home from school one day and watch him until Emily gets off work. Small spoiler - Emily never gets off work and this crazy good story with tons of twists and turns unravels.
Here are my thoughts:
#1) definitely get a good bottle of wine and watch this movie sometime, it's now streaming on Hulu!
#2) there is absolutely no shame in being the one who has the time and energy to serve others and who actually enjoys doing so!
A couple of months ago, another mom in my circle made a comment about how often I am away from my family serving. It hurt, but it wasn't long until that same mom came to me for help. Just like in the movie, it's easy for the other parents to make comments about Stephanie, but who did Emily come to when she actually needed help? That's right, Mrs. Always Prepared.
If you're a Stephanie, I applaud you and want to encourage you to keep serving and loving on others - even when they hurt your feelings.
If you don't feel like you're a Stephanie, I want to let you in on a little secret. We don't actually always feel prepared. We feel just as overwhelmed as you at times!
Another secret - if you want to be the one that can help others at the drop of a hat, then you actually have to plan for it. I work hard to schedule emptiness in my schedule. In that emptiness is where the time to serve others lives.
As this is most likely my last blog post of the year, I want to issue some challenges for 2020:
#1) Find time for chick flicks
#2) Be nice to each other
#3) Embrace being you - no matter what other people say!
XO - Olivia