bethysmalls

Where the wild things are

April 23rd, 2010

Two nights ago, Hoagey and I watched Where The Wild Things Are. I was very excited about this because, while I don’t really remember the book from growing up, I loved the previews and the monsters and all. I was aware that it was a bit deeper than a kids movie but I was still unprepared for how hard it hit me.

In the beginning scenes, the little boy, Max, is trying to get the attention of his older sister and she blows him off. A few minutes later, he is sucker punched, crying, embarrassed in front of the older kids. That night, his mother is busy with her date and, feeling naughty and rebellious, Max starts acting out to the point that his mother is sending him to bed without dinner. At this point, I’m crying. And the word sobbing doesn’t even describe it. I’m weeping like a child and I tell Hoagey to stop laughing at me (he wasn’t laughing at me).

I thought It was a result of my broken family and that those experiences, however old and forgiven and forgotten, are so close below the surface that they can make you feel like the unkempt, latch-key kid of your youth. A friend of mine, from an intact albeit imperfect family (that’s fair, no?) told me she reacted the same way.

Being a kid is hard. For some it’s much harder than others and I do not for one moment think I had it the worst. AT ALL. It’s nice to be reminded of this at a time when my usually-well-behaved-in-public-tiny-angel has thrown a fit in public twice in the last week. I think I handled pretty well both times and I didn’t yell or even get mad (I was pretty frustrated, mind, but even that I kept in check) and we ended up leaving the store we were at both times and then everything was fine. I learned last night that on the first occasion, Bruno hadn’t had even half the milk we sent with him to day care (I found that out when one of the sippy cups we sent with him was still in his bag almost full with what WAS milk. ew.).

I didn’t know at the time that Bruno was hungry (and also very sleepy) but being that it was the first time he ever acted like this, I was frustrated and confused and I’m terribly glad I didn’t lose my temper considering the facts. I guess what I’m trying to say is, it’s so tough to be a baby.