Curve Ball

May 10, 2012

My niece, Emily, will soon graduate from high school with a dream to be a film producer/director.  Some of you may remember her anti-bully video (published previously in a post called “Final Solution?”) that she did for a national anti-bully campaign/contest.  Out of the hundreds of videos submitted, Emily’s team made the Top 100!  The No Bull Challenge board is now narrowing that list down to the top 10 and we are anxiously awaiting the results hopefully posted 5/17 or shortly thereafter.

In the mean time, Emily came to me and asked if the family and I would be subjects in a movie trailer that she needed to do for one of her classes.  Remembering back to my Best Actress Award in high school, I immediately said “Of course!” 

Her movie plot is a story of a family with 3 kids, busy with baseball, softball, school, jobs – life, really.  And one day the unthinkable happens.  The parents are killed in a horrible accident.  Say what?  Yes she killed me off!  The rest of her movie would be about her fight as a 17-year-old to become the temporary guardian of her younger siblings.  The trailer was simply a set up to the movie, as all trailers are. 

Emily’s inspiration was our everyday schedule, happenings, and moments  - those times we when we never think the unthinkable might happen.  We walk out the door for the day with a quick kiss or a wave or a “love you” never thinking that it could be the last time.  She used the term curve ball because that's what life will throw you.  And she's been taught that no matter if you hit the ball or not, you have to keep swinging.  You have to keep getting up every morning and trying your best to hit the curve balls life throws you.

Now try not to focus on my exemplary acting skills or the fact that she killed my husband and I off.  Look instead at the cinematography, lighting effects, preview to the storyline, her ability to capture real life moments - her video is well done.  For me it brings to life one of the best lessons there is.  Living each day as if it is the last.  I think as a family we do this pretty well.  We live in the moment.  We have family time together – eating supper, playing games or camping out in sleeping bags in the basement.  We share our days, laughs, attitudes, opinions, tears.  We say “I love you” each night and no matter what happens during the day, we mean it. 

Our mornings, however, are crazy hectic.  The trailer depicted a far more relaxed morning, which doesn’t really happen at my house.  If I could take one thing from this trailer, it will be to start our day off better – look each of the kids in the eye, tell them I love them and wish them a good day.  I do these things but it is usually shouted as they run out of the house to meet their friends, sometimes hopping, trying to get their shoes on.  I’ll give them kisses and hugs – if I am allowed, we are, after all, entering the pre-teen stage so this will have to be discussed.  But in any case, I think teaching my kids that life is unexpected and in order to not have regrets, you have to live each day as if it is the last.

It’s just the trailer but it made me wish that she could produce the whole movie.  OK, fine, part of me just wants to be involved in drama/acting again.  I have added trying out for the community theater to my bucket-list.  As soon as softball and baseball season is over – say in about 10 years.  Looks like I will need to work on living each day as if it is the last.  LOL. 

When Emily becomes the next Steven Spielberg, George Lucas, James Cameron, Ron Howard or Walt Disney, you can say "Hey, I saw her work when she was in high school!"  Enjoy the show!