We escape into ourselves. It’s as simple as a familiar movie or book. For years, my movie was Meet Me in St. Louis. Whenever I watched it I felt a little bit more like the person I wanted to be…and maybe was.
Comfort food is eaten to ease stress and gain a sense of home. But, the idea is not confined to food. No, it is the movies we watch repeatedly, it is the tv series that we watch start to finish and start to finish, it is the books we re-read and the traditional tv program viewing.
- The West Wing
- The Family Stone
- Pride and Prejudice
- The Wedding Date
- Felicity
- Harry Potter (books and movies)
When I was little I had a pink stuffed bunny. She started out as an Easter basket but I loved and hugged her so much that I broke off her white, plastic handle. Her pink faded and greyed, her stuffing shifted and bunched, but I still loved her. I left her on a Greyhound bus once and the driver left us (somewhere in Utah) and I felt like a piece of me was gone. I was 5 and she was my armor. When I clung to her I felt safe.
I cling to books, movies, and tv shows. These things give me hope, energy, joy, nostalgia, heartache. From the dysfunctional, yet united family home of The Family Stone to the witty world of the West Wing I find a piece of myself. I find the holiday homemaker and sense of home and roots; I find the driven world of career and intellectual stimulation; I find a girl independant and looking for love; I find imagination.
Restless contentment – just hit “play.”
