I have been gobbling down Christmas movies for the past few weeks. Partly because my regular TV shows are on hiatus, but also because the world is so upsetting and dark lately that a little true-love-wins-out is necessary.
I’m exhausted. I can’t quite tell if it’s about the political noise, or the news, or the end of my first semester in social work graduate school, or the endless disappointment of getting my writing rejected that’s wiping me out. I just feel like my motivation tank is getting close to zero, and these movies are keeping me from scraping the bottom.
Exhausted puppies.
Sugar helps too. I did my own Chanukah Cookie Jamboree, but I only got to four types of cookies before I ran out of space in the freezer. There were the triple chocolate cookies, chocolate chip with Macadamia nuts, almond thumbprints with lemon curd filling, and fruitcake cookies (surprisingly yummy!). I gave away a lot of cookies, but there were enough left over to help smooth out some of the anxiety.
Cricket likes to bake.
I didn’t realize that taking one graduate class at a time, online, would wear me out so completely. I thought I’d have energy left over to get my own writing done, but I’ve just barely been able to keep up with the blog this semester, let alone work on the other ten projects piled on my night table.
Don’t get me wrong, I like the school work, for the most part. I like the feeling that I’m really starting to understand something about this country I live in, and how social policy actually works, and more often doesn’t work. I feel more grounded because of the reading I’ve done on social justice. I feel like I understand the news better, and understand more of the history that shapes today’s issues.
But instead of feeling inspired and energized, I feel like I’ve been hit by a truck. And then I eat a cookie and watch one of these Christmas movies, which are more about love and family and magic and hope than they are about religion, and I feel a tiny bit better.
Mayim Bialik (a more Jewish girl you could not find) was in a Christmas movie this year. They explained away her very Jewish looks by making her mother Jewish and her father Christian, so she went to Hebrew school but the family still celebrates Christmas every year. Her movie was one of my favorites, because there was only a little bit of magic, in the form of a Santa Clause-esque man who helped her find her plane ticket and nudged her in the right direction. She wasn’t the perfect, blond, success story, she was just an interesting, hardworking, grumpy woman with bad taste in men. And she got a happy ending. Falling in love didn’t land her a great job, or a good friend, or a loving family, because she already had those things. Falling in love only brought her love.
I’ve watched almost all of the Christmas movies, no matter how silly, and there seem to be more than ever this year, with different channels competing to flood the air waves with hard luck stories and plucky heroines. I try not to get too angry about how easily the undiscovered writer/artist/musician finds success before Christmas, and it helps that a lot of these movies are made in Canada and have lots of Canadian accents to cut through the bitterness.
My favorite message in these movies is to slow down and open your eyes to what you already have. Listen to the music. Play in the snow. Laugh with a friend. That’s where the meaning of life has been hiding all along. It’s simplistic, yes, but it’s still true. When I wake up to Cricket’s doggy breath in my face, or watch Butterfly bring her kibble into the living room so she won’t have to eat alone, I feel so much better. These are the moments that save me.
Cricket’s doggy breath. Can you smell it?
“Hey Mommy, I have doggy breath too!”
Though I wouldn’t mind if Santa, or the Jewish equivalent, would perform some magic for me this winter and nudge me in the right direction to find a publisher; validation that a lifetime of work really can pay off would be a nice way to start the New Year. And more cookies.
rachelmankowitz 
My movie is “I Remember Mama.” Black and white and full of the Scandinavian heritage I share. I love where it is set, San Francisco. I served in the US Army while there. I’m a dog rescuer and lover. I give a forever home to those dogs that come to me. You are an awesome person. I can tell by the love in your dog’s eyes. I’m blonde, green eyed and certainly no hero, but you are right about the messages from outside the box.
I loved the new Star Wars for just that reason. The woman who was the protagonist was strong, passionate, smart, quick, and determined. She was outside the box. Rae is certainly the role model I would have given my daughter. General L, formerly the Princess, also shows women transcending youth to become powerful champions as they age. Rae outwits the bad guy, saves the handsome youth formerly a member of the bad guys and helps him become a good person with honorable intentions, and heads into the future to find someone to train her to become, I hope, the most powerful Jedi yet. A woman of the world, a hard world, and she never gives up.
Thanks for your blog. I really enjoyed it.
Thank you!
Loved your Christmas movie post. Nothing quite helps like a loving dog, a cookie, and an upbeat movie. Good luck with your graduate studies. You are in a very important and worthy area of study.
Thank you!
You are so talented!
Thank you so much!