On a spontaneous Saturday afternoon date, Hubs and I jumped into a “borrowed” dark silver Mini and sped down side streets to catch a 3:20 showing of the new movie, Gravity. Our friend, the owner of the Cooper, left her car in exchange for our SUV to accommodate our kids for a girls afternoon of baking creme brule, eating pizza and watching Cars Two. [Thanks, Ruby!] And when the kids were away, the parents, who could be productive, chose to play.

And Clooney and Bullock delivered, Sandra stealing the show. Of course. After enduring the many minutes of silence in Tom Hanks’ Castaway, Life of Pi was a huge step up between the Tiger and the brilliant narration, but in general, I’m wary of movies where a single character must carry the bulk of the scenes, flying solo. And in the case of Gravity, Sandra Bullock was literally flying solo in her topsy-turvy Survivor meets Lost meets Lost in Space. [Okay, Lost might be a stretch, but I like to think that the theme/phrase, “We have to go back!” kinda worked itself in there, so I’m going with it. 🙂 ]

Any-shway, the sobering moment that blows out all the wonder of shooting stars is when the audience learns that Sandra’s character is a mother who recently lost her four-year old daughter in a tragic, school yard accident. And she, like most of us, does not know how to navigate through her pain, let go, and move on with life.

For me, the two cinematic moments that captivated me and will stay with me forever are [SPOILER-ALERT] when her teardrops leave her cheeks but have no where to land because of spaces’ zero gravity. Such a profound visual of her own inability to know where to place her sadness and the magnifying of her aloneness when there’s no one present to catch her tears. The second is the final scene when she lands on a beach, rises to her knees, and takes her first, fumbling steps. Such a clear contrast with the whole landing on the moon, and “one small step for man, one huge for mankind,” but the script writers knew that her first steps on earth perfectly framed her journey and decision to finally move on. One step at a time.

As we left the theater to grab a bite to eat, I thought about my own journey, and those close to me who have weathered such devastating life punches. And when that introspection light turns on, all other senses dim. Okay, it doesn’t just happen when I’m thinking about stuff, but it definitely gets worse when I’m lost in thought.

After eating, Hubs and I stroll over to REI, where he shops around for biking gear while I sift through Clearance racks for good deals. Hubs finds me in the girls’ clothes section to show me something, and as I follow him, a man walking toward us says, “Excuse me, but have you seen my glasses?” He’s shaking his head, clearly distraught from laying them down, he thinks, somewhere in the store.

“Sorry,” I say, but I find myself wanting to help him look. Hubs just shrugs his shoulders, and even as I take one more step to follow Santhosh, I tap my shoulder and my thigh before screaming, “My purse!”

Hubs just shakes his head, eyebrows raised. “Where do you think you left it?” He’s already moving toward the front door.

Luckily we found it back at the restaurant with nothing stolen, but as we drove back home that night, I’m holding onto my phone and realize that I always know where my phone is. Ever since my phone moved up in rank, my purse took the back seat in my priorities. Need to work on either ditching the purse or … yeah. Not sure how to iron that one out yet.

The next day, some good friends invite us to a spontaneous Sunday night dinner, simply because they got the memo. Not really, but it added to our play by play weekend where anything could happen. And I love this couple. They’re fun, and funny, and we see eye to eye on so many things about life. And our kids all love each other, which always helps. [Thanks for dinner, Caitlin and David!] 🙂

When we all sat down to eat, we raised our glasses, and all eyes turned on me, “Well, Raj, you’re the writer,” David says, “Why don’t you make a toast.”

“To friends.” Felt a little loss for words, actually. I know, surprising.

“And family!” Hubs added.

“Yes. To friends and family.” Clink clink.

That’s who grounds me. When I get lost, and that’s more often than I misplace things, it’s the relationships in my life that remind me what’s important. Who’s important. And that I’m important.

Love my friends and family. And thank God for them so much. So much.

Gotta run. And go call my mom and dad. Today’s their 46th Anniversary!

Happy Anniversary, Mom and Dad! And thanks for encouraging me to reach for the stars but reminding me to take it one step at a time. Love you so much. So much!

***

And you? What grounds you? Have you seen the movie, Gravity? Misplace anything lately and find it?!?

Happy Friday, All! Anyone going to the movies tonight?