Today we've got a special guest post in honor of a certain movie release. Julie sent us this post yesterday and since we can all get behind the romance and the ridiculousness, we are delighted to present it here. Go crazy.I am 29. In one month I will be 30. My bestest girl friend just turned 29 and is freaking out a little about this. Our lives are ruled by responsibility and repetition. We are feeling a little down about this. We have both been married 9 years, and are stay at home moms raising our children. At this stage of motherhood, the only way to shake things up is to get involved in something and feel a sense of accomplishment. Some join the PTA, others a book club; many get a part-time job just to get out of the house. But what about stirring up those emotions we felt when we were young? This good friend of mine actually told me we needed to ask a single 21 year old what she does for fun. Yes, we are that pathetic.
I read a comment on Facebook by a friend who was totally annoyed by all this New Moon hype. I had similar feelings about the Twilight movie release (I was still a little in denial). But this time I feel differently. What makes grown women attend a midnight showing of a movie geared toward teenage girls? What makes them wear t-shirts proudly announcing “Bite me Edward”? I will tell you what. It is fun. It is not because I am obsessed over the characters. It is because of the emotions it stirs up inside of me. I WANT my heart to race over something other than being late for carpool. And I can relate to the themes in the books.
Twilight: Falling in love; a forbidden love.New Moon: Being dumped; loving two men.
Eclipse: Choosing between two lovers; cheating on your boyfriend with fiery hot kisses.
Breaking Dawn: Getting married, going on a honeymoon; pregnancy, childbirth; fighting to keep your family.
I have experienced ALL of these events, and let me tell you, it is sure fun to live them over again. To feel all these complicated and deep emotions through a book is awesome! I love escaping my responsible life to feel like a young desirable girl again. Is that wrong? I don't think so. It tells us something that almost every movie theater across the U.S. is sold out for opening day weeks in advance.
You know what a single 21 year old does for fun? She screams over hot boys on the covers of magazines, dreams about kissing the sexiest man alive, and goes to midnight premiers of movies. She doesn’t worry about the 5 am feeding of her 6 month old baby, or packing her kid’s lunch for school. She throws that all to the wind and giggles in the theater with her girlfriends while waiting for the show to start. And that is what I am going to do. This is how I feel alive: I embrace silly experiences to feel young again.
Special thanks to Lindsay Heinzen of Penguin Stands Alone for not being too mad at us that we didn't originally know where the awesome Edward/Jacob picture (above) came from. It's her lovely/hilarious work. We love it and you should all shower praise on her head. Thanks Lindsay!
10 comments:
This is exactly why I love the books so much, and why I've made a fool of myself more than once for them. Trust me, as an English major, I'm fully aware that it isn't great literature. I'm also aware of some big flaws in the story and some major things that bug me about it if I think about it too much. And yet.
These books came into my life during a really rough patch in my actual life. It was nice to have the alternate universe available, and I was completely sucked in. I hooked my roommates, and soon we were making trips to Phoenix and standing in long lines at midnight for books and movies. I even got an Edward action figure for my birthday (actually a modified Robin action figure), which was hilarious. We did all kinds of ridiculous Twilight-related things, and I loved every minute of it. I will not apologize for how happy it makes me that I've had something to squeal about for the last 3 years.
It's a little sad that I'm only 26 and need to be reminded of what 21 year olds do for fun.
Thanks for this post, Julie. You've captured just what I love about the books. The silliness and the drama and the fun times.
Sorry to interrupt the Twilove, but credit where credit is due...the New Moon art is from Lindsay Heinzen. As seen here: http://penguinstandsalone.blogspot.com/2009/11/new-moon-bananza.html
AAH! Thanks! I just stole it from your wall because it wasn't on the t-shirt website anymore, but I loved it. I didn't know how to look it up. I'm so glad you put up the link!
Julie, you've really addressed a really important aspect that sometimes disappears in our lives amid the chaoticness of being a mom and wife. I love that you found something that excites you! It is such a desirable thing to be had. I love that books in general can have that effect on an individual. What a fun experience. Thanks for sharing!
just wanted credit for my artwork... be sure when you use people's work that you give them due credit... it's my profession. thanks!
I've now put it in the post itself. I really do love the picture - it's why I wanted to use it in the first place. I'm glad you ladies spoke up so we could give you proper credit. Hope you don't mind that it came a little late!
oh sheesh.. i didn't mean praise me!! nerds... :)
Did you see the title of this blog? We are all about the praise.
THANK YOU SOOO MUCH FOR THIS POST!
As someone who is always up on those exciting three am feedings looking for adventure I love the books because as you said they are FUN. I don't cry over Edwards glory. I don't dream that he will one day watch me as I sleep next to my husband and whisk me away from my "mundane" life. Girls just want to have fun!
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