Thursday, March 05, 2009

the parable of lightning mcqueen


if you happen to not have a boy between the ages of 0 and... i don't know... 12? or you happen to think that subjecting your child to disney movies is of the devil or you've just never seen CARS, i'm sorry if i lose you here. just bear with me. or don't. your choice. whatever.
since i do have a son in the appropriate age range and since disney movies often save me my sanity, i have seen CARS approximately 5 bazillion times and know the darn thing backwards and forwards, word for word.
the other day i noticed myself doing something silly. there i stood folding laundry while o sat in the next room chillin with lightning mcqueen. i was rehearsing the movie line by line in my head (don't ask me why) when it got to the first turning point of the movie. one minute rascal flatts is singing 'life is a highway' and next thing you know some stupid show-off cars pull up next to mac and one thing leads to another and mcqueen ends up abandoned on a freeway in the middle of nowhere facing the wrong way!!! i found myself thinking - 'if those dumb cars would'a minded their own business,' and 'silly mac should have pulled over to rest,' and other alternatives that would have prevented lightning from ending up in radiator springs. stay with me. there's a point, i promise.
i'm pretty sure i'd thought these things every time i'd seen/heard/been in the presence of this movie, but the other day it hit me how dumb i am. duh. first of all, if mac had gotten his rest or if those ridiculous flashy cars had left him alone, the movie would've lasted about 15 minutes and would've been pretty lame. second, if lightning would not have ended up where he did, he wouldn't have met his best car friend, his car girlfriend, his car mentor, etc - AND he would not have learned that he was a cocky little booger and that there are more important things in life than winning.
why am i re-hashing this, you ask?
i am so prone to look at my life and wish it were something it is not. i tend to think 'if only we were done with school,' 'if only i didn't live in the snow,' 'if only such and such unpleasant event hadn't happened in my life,' etc. really though, how am i to know that all of those things, hard as they may be, are not the source of eventual blessings and happy-ever-afters? i can not see the end of my movie right now, but i am sure that those turning points are there for my benefit. at one point, being 25 and single seemed like a curse - but would i trade those feelings in and sacrifice finding someone who fits me so perfectly? and would i give up my precious boy to have been able to get pregnant easily and exactly according to MY time frame? heck-to-the-no. and although i can't really tell what is going to happen in the end and what crazy twists and turns my life will take (which hopefully will not include paving a road and going tractor tipping,) it all works out in the end. it always does! and that, my friends is the parable of lightning mcqueen. aren't you glad i shared?

6 comments:

Angelina Christina said...

Jess, you always seem to know what to blog about just when I need it. I have had a rough couple of weeks and feeling sad, but I'm grateful for the twists and turns in my life that let me grow and learn, HOW BORING WOULD LIFE BE if our story had no surprises?!
Thanks, te quiero mamita

Aaron & Jill said...

Thanks, Jess. :'-)

brooke said...

Ok I seriously had to laugh out loud as I sit here next to Zach's Lightening McQueen couch and can exactly picture the same thoughts (not the inspired ones just the, "why doesn't Mac just PULL OVER!?" ones) running through my head. I think I literally watch that movie (or Nemo) every single night while I make dinner (its the only way it would EVER get made). And now I have so much more to think about when I watch it! Up next-- "deep" thoughts about Nemo? Or how 'bout some Monster's Inc. Parables (I'm still trying to get Zach to like that one as much as I do).

Melissa said...

There is one thing about my age that I wouldn't change, and that's the learning and wisdom that comes from all the lessons so far. I'd love to be younger, have less wrinkles and a rockin' body, but I know to go back and have all that would mean I'd lose the moments of understanding that have come along the way. Good for you for putting all that together, and for sharing it with us. We are very alike that way in that I love sharing the stuff I've learned with others. I am so appreciative to get to read your thoughts!

Mom said...

I always said you were a wise sold soul when you came to be my child. You've proved it again with this post. You teach me all the time.

XOXO

Amanda said...

Jessica! I loved this post! I am so glad that you shared this with me. I needed it. Especially right now. You are amazing... thank you.