dual personalities

Happy Birthday to one of our dual personalities, my dear mother! For the past several years, we have celebrated together as I got in the habit of flying home for an April visit. The baby shower in March had already prevented such a plan, but now with a full-blown quarantine, it turns out no one will be able to visit and celebrate together, which is too bad. Let’s at least all comment our happy wishes for the birthday lady, a superlative mother and someone who has had quite a year. Now let’s see if we can turn this one around, shall we?

I had a very low-key weekend. The lowest of keys, truly. I mostly lounged about, moving between bed and the couch (and at one point, a different bed for a change of scenery). I guess I need the rest. I am learning to be less hard on myself when this happens. I didn’t make a to do list this weekend, let alone complete one, and that is OK.

DN has sandwich skills

I did eat a delicious BLT, which is just about the most excitement I had all weekend.

We also watched Notting Hill, a movie I haven’t seen since 2007, right around the start of the last national panic. I can’t remember the exact circumstances, but for some reason, I got to choose a movie to rent, a rare occasion for the youngest child, and I believe my father was having a mental breakdown about the economy. Well, everyone knows that watching a romantic comedy with your father in your teens is horrifying enough. Imagine the horror when my sister and I later realized he had re-watched the DVD several more times over the course of the weekend. Apparently something struck a cord.

We streamed Notting Hill on HBO, where we came across it in a category HBO Go has newly created: the “Comfort Watch.” Remembering that it had clearly comforted the OM in 2007, we thought, well sure. Let’s see if this is pandemic-appropriate.

It was neither good nor bad. Julia Roberts wasn’t all that convincing as a bombshell movie star and Hugh Grant really wasn’t convincing as someone with whom a bombshell movie star would fall in love. (The floppy hair — ye gods!! Then again, DN will look like this in approximately 2 weeks, so I should get used to it.)

We did appreciate the surprise appearance of young Alec Baldwin playing (of course) the jerk-boyfriend for one scene. And in a way, the movie was well-written. It moved swiftly, it wasn’t overly indulgent, and it wrapped up nicely. Maybe there really isn’t anything more comforting than a nineties rom com?