Movie Time

June was British Movie month here at Anne's House.

I didn't plan it that way, it just happened. In no particular order (because I can't remember the order), this is what I watched:

Moulin Rouge!, ok, it's not a British film, but it's got the guy who plays the young Obi-Wan Kenobi in it and everybody knows Obi-Wan's British. I was surprised how much I liked this, even if it's a story-within-a-story-within-a-story story.

The Secret Garden featuring Maggie Smith as Mrs. Medlock. The book was a free download on my kindle so I got it, then wanted to watch the movie. It's a decent adaptation, but the book is better.

Maybe I should have called it "Maggie Smith Movie Month" because she was also in A Room with a View with Dame Judi Dench, which I'd seen before, but was confusing it with Howards End in my mind, which I have all ready to watch from Netflix. Both have Helena Bonham Carter so you can see my confusion. And as a bonus, Room has three fully naked men in it.

Our beloved Maggie was also in Harry Potter I, Harry Potter II and Harry Potter III. Since Harry Potter VIIb is opening next week I've been trying to catch up on all the movies.

Helena Bonham Carter was also in HP-V, HP-VI, and HP-VIIa but I can't list those this month.

This list of movies reads like a complicated family tree. Dame Judi, was also in The Importance of Being Earnest with the wonderful Colin Firth.

The last movie on my June list is Calendar Girls, delightful film with Helen Mirren and Julie Walters. And if that name isn't familiar, she was in all the Harry Potter movies as Molly Weasley.

I'll put together a July list sometime in August. What have you been watching?

Kevin

July 3, 2011
I'm sitting on the beach at Rehoboth, DE watching Kevin play at the edge of the surf. He truly is an amazing child. And not because I'm his mom and am paid to think that. If you don't know Kevin, he's my eighteen year old autistic son. 

Kevin is always happy, or nearly so. He finds joy in all that he does. He is perfectly happy sitting in the surf on a crowded beach on a holiday weekend where most of us would get antsy with the crowdedness. He scoops sand from a wet hole in front of him and pats it on to a mound beside him. Scoop, pat, pat, pat. Scoop, pat, pat, pat. He is never distraught when a wave laps up to fill in his hole and erodes the mound. He continues his mission when the water recedes. And for an hour or more he continues like that, building his shapeless mound, which gets larger as the afternoon wears on and the tide gets lower. Perfectly happy. 

At home he can be happy riding his bike through the neighborhood, or playing with legos for hours on end, or commandeering my iPad and slinging birds at silly green pigs. He is happy where he is and never complains of boredom; he takes care of himself. 

But more than that, he's amazing because he wants for nothing. He is very hard to shop for because of this, however. He just doesn't want anything. He's not the type of kid who peruses the Sears Christmas catalog and circles six things on every page. I'm reminded of a scene in Harry Potter I where Dumbledore tells Harry about the Mirror of Desire, it shows the true desire of anyone who looks into it (Harry sees a family, Dumbledore sees warm socks) and anyone who is truly happy will see only himself. I think Kevin would see only himself. 

It amazes me that in this materialistic world we live in, I have a child who is so happy and joyful with what he has.