Hey friends,
I have been in love with Judy Blume since I was 8 years old. The day my parents told me they would be getting a divorce, my mind flashed to “Its Not the End of the World.” In the book, Karen (which happens to be my mothers name) was distraught when she was told her parents were getting divorced. She knew something I didn't… something I would need to know. After that I devoured every Judy Blume book I could get my hands on. I had no idea many of them had been written 10 years before I was even born. In my mind, Judy Blume was creating characters for me. Telling me about the world. About boys. About periods. About crushes. About school. About girl friends. About parents. About siblings. About divorce. About moving. About life… my life.
So when I heard “Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret” was being turned into a movie, I could hardly contain myself. I knew the trailer would have the classic scene that meant everything to her readers: “We must! We must! We must increase our bust!” It didn't disappoint.
As a busy mom, I didnt manage to see the movie when it first released. I kept planning on it. But things never quite slowed down enough for me to make my way to the theater. Until my mom came to visit.
My mom is my little butterfly. She has a hard time sitting still, so I often will plan little dates for us when she comes to visit. I looked at the theater schedule. There were only two more showings in the smaller theaters. It was perfect. We were going to see “Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret”.
The movie was so good. That is never a guarantee when seeing a movie based on a book. But it updated things in all the right places while keeping the nostalgia of our memories, the imagined world we knew so well, intact.
When the lights came up at the end, everyone in the small theater looked around- all women. And all like us- older women with younger ones. For those who weren't afraid of Judy’s stories- she crossed generations, created connections, gave us permission to talk about the hard and uncomfortable and embarrassing. I have been to the movies with my mother many, many times… but this will be a date to remember.
As we exited the theater, I whispered my own gratitude for having this moment with her- and all the moments that led to it. But the sweetest gift would be waiting outside the theater. As we walked back to the car, a sweet brown girl, maybe 6 years old, was holding tightly to her mothers hand. She had on a turquoise skirt with tulle and sequin scales restricting the movement of her little legs. She walked as quickly as she could taking tiny, but extra bouncy steps. “Come on, Mom,” she encouraged. “Im so excited!”
“I know!” Her mother smiled back.
I looked at my mother. She looked back at me. We were both remembering the first movie she took me to see… The Little Mermaid. And gratitude washed over me again.
What was the first/last movie you saw with your parent or as we say in our house “your grown up”?
A FEW OTHER THINGS FOR YOU THIS WEEK…
I mean, how cute is Judy Blume in this interview?? Were you able to read her growing up???
Do better, Target.
I want everything from this store!
A WORD…
“We need, in every community, a group of angelic troublemakers.” — Bayard Rustin
Stay wild and holy and free,
Austin
Oh my goodness. We must increase our bust. I used to do that, along with arm movements, from my house to the road when I was younger. Wow!
My mother is no longer with us but I remember watching Hallmark movies with her before she passed. She used to take my daughters to the movies and watch movies at home with them. She taught them to love The Muppets and Milo and Otis. I will definitely watch Are You There God with my girls (18 and 23) and think of my mom and wish she was with us.