Pure Cheese: My Take on “Big Fish”

Ever seen the movie “Big Fish”?

Caleb I saw it in theaters when I was pregnant with Mia and it weirded me out, though it is quite possibly the least disturbing of Tim Burton movies. But I actually loved it.

So anyways, after a fun-filled 3-day weekend full of climbing trees, playing catch and roasting marshmallows with the kids, I finally got some down-time when Merrick decided to conk out while riding his 4-wheeler. (Seriously–he was riding across the yard and fell asleep at the wheel. Awesome.) I carried him inside and sat down on the couch, with him still in my arms. The boy stayed asleep for 2 and a half glorious hours, and I got to channel-surf like nobody’s business (This almost never happens as most of the time the TV is blaring either Cars, Tarzan, or Toy Story). I settled on “Big Fish” and it didn’t take long for the tears to start rolling.

**SPOILER ALERT**, although at this point you really ought to have seen this movie. It’s about this guy who’s a bit of a drama queen about his dad, who’s a bit of a drama queen in general. The dad’s always telling these tall tales and stealing his son’s thunder and whatnot. His whole life is one big fat tall tale, according to the son, who walks around all day, everyday, like someone stole his bike or pissed in his cheerios, and he’s just got no patience whatsoever for his dad’s story-telling. Anyway, at the end of the movie, the dad is laying in the hospital on his death bed, and unfortunately for him, the sour-puss son is the only one in the room when it’s time for him to die. But hold on! The son snaps out of his funk, and musters up a custom tall tale–instead of some boring death in a boring hospital with only his boring son to keep him company, they escape in a sweet Dodge Charger and head down to the river–where everyone the old man ever knew is standing there waiting for him. With much gusto and great fanfare, the son carries his dad to the water, and his beautiful wife is standing there. They kiss good-bye, and the son gently sets him down into the water, where he turns into a…wait for it…big fish.

And since I’m pretty sure that I’ve fooled absolutely no one into believing that I’m a hardcore stone-cold emotionless gangsta robot, I’ll just go ahead with the rest of my thoughts on this movie.

I, of course, had to stop and wonder: “Who’s going to dump me in the river?” Metaphorically speaking, of course. Who’s going to be standing around on the bank, clapping for me and congratulating me on finally dying? I’ve been blessed to know so many wonderful people in my life…and some not-so-wonderful people, but blessings they were, nonetheless. Every single person I’ve ever met has meant something to me, whether that something was the voice of wisdom, the light at the end of the tunnel, a shoulder to cry on, or maybe just a lesson learned. I honestly believe I couldn’t trade a second of my time with anyone without ultimately changing where I’m at and who I am. My husband and my children are my greatest gifts of all–God didn’t put them in my life to annoy me or burden me (Dogs? Are a different story.) God gave me my family–he chose each one of them, he designed each one of them, and gave them to me, and me to them. I think one of our greatest missions in life is to support each other and love each other while we’re in this crazy world. Is it okay to think that one day, when it’s my time to go, it will be my strong, protective son, to carry me down to the river where my sweet, beautiful daughters are waiting with the rest of my family and friends, aquaintences and enemies? Was that not just the biggest run-on sentence you ever read? Will Caleb, the love of my life, be standing in the water to see me off? Will I turn into a fish? What kind? A mackerel?

So. How big of a fish will you be? What kind of an impact have you had on the people who will be on the shore waving to you? Who’s going to dump you in the river? How are you treating them on a day-to-day basis? Will they be loving and gentle when they let you go, or will they gag and bind you, chuckling evily while they hold you underwater?

Well, there you have it, my friends–the cheesiest blog entry of 2010. Hope you enjoyed it. A hardcore gangsta like me doesn’t open up like this very often.