Check it out, we are in a movie

The other day I was chatting with my wonderful friend Jill, and she shared she was going to spend a couple of days in NYC for the preview of the Mothehood movie. It was early morning for her (darn time difference!) and we knew we were stealing a few minutes before one of us got interrupted, as it often happens when moms try to have a conversation with someone other than their kids, so neither of us was surprised when her son Evan woke up before we could finish, and she had to go. I didn’t get a chance to ask her, but I assumed she won a giveaway, and that was why she was going to New York for a movie premiere.

Still, that peaked my curiosity, because I thought I saw a Twitter e-mail that The Motherhood Movie was following me and didn’t have time to check it out (I am running WAY behind on my e-mail since the move). I found it. And while I think there is a somewhat high concentration of clichés, I liked it. So I’ll share the preview with you, in case you haven’t seen it.

One of the reasons why I hadn’t checked it out before Jill mentioned it is that I was sure it was going to be a not-funny, cliché-ridden, substandard piece of junk that depicted moms in general and SAHMs in particular as being these peculiar, ridiculous creatures who seem to have lost (or at least misplaced) their pride, their fashion sense, and half their IQ points once the new arrival made his or her first sound. Why are moms so often depicted like brainless idiots in sloppy clothing?

Granted, motherhood changes a woman. And granted, when you are sleep-deprived and overwhelmed some days you don’t feel like making much of an effort on your appearance (though I have never, ever gone out in my pjs. Not once), but come on. We are not brainless idiots.

Which is one of the reasons, I think, why blogging has been so popular. It’s a way for many of us to reclaim a space somewhere, to show that we are still capable of stringing coherent thoughts together and not all of them involve diaper rashes and bottle warmers.

Which is why the turn in the movie when she starts writing and suddenly she feels more alive, has more passion… that hit close to home. It’s empowering to feel like you can still get in touch with your old self, the one who had ideas, and humor, and can have fun. It’s wonderful to realize that finding joy in doing something else, something just for you, and still loving your children and taking care of them aren’t mutually exclusive.

I don’t really think we can “have it all”. Not if you stick to the image of all that is portrayed in many places: a mom, beautifully dressed and climbing up the corporate ladder half of the time, then going home and being this über-organized Mother Earth type the other half of the time. Pfffft.

I believe if you are lucky, and work very hard, it is possibly to have job you enjoy and be good at it, and still have a loving family and time to spend with your kids. I know a few bloggers who seem to have that, and that’s something to shoot for, something to aspire to.

But until you get there, you have to make choices. What’s most important to you? What do you want to give priority to? Can you afford to do that?

I want to see this movie. I hope it’s at least some of what I imagine, what I gather from the preview, a movie that talks about real moms, both the comical aspects and the tough times. I hope it isn’t one that talks down to us. I hope it’s one of those movies where you feel uplifted and inspired afterwards. And I hope it comes to Europe soon. Though of course I would love nothing more than going back to New York to see it there