Cheaper by the Dozen

Yesterday morning, I awoke early (not uncommon) and watched the movie Cheaper By The Dozen while I got ready for my busy day. It was on TV, I hadn't seen it in awhile, and since I was having some serious Smallville withdrawals, I figured I could curb them by watching Tom Welling as the oldest son in the Baker family. While I did have some major flashbacks to season four of Smallville while watching Welling play football, I had other thoughts while watching the movie, thoughts that almost had me in tears. 

First, if you aren't familiar with the movie CBTD, let me sum it up for you. Steve Martin, Baker dad, gets a new football coaching job that moves his family to a new, suburban place where they just don't fit in. Meanwhile, Bonnie Hunt, Baker mom, publishes a book and goes on tour to promote it, leaving her eleven children at home under the care of their father, who is unfortunately absent most of the time because of his new job. The oldest of the total twelve children lives with her boyfriend and comes to help out (I really don't care for this part of the story). The movie ends with Mom returning, the family coming together to overcome a crisis, and all ends happy.

Yes, the movie has some cheesy parts (it's a kid movie, after all). Yes, the movie is unbelievable in many scenes. But I was entertained throughout. I laughed. I smiled. I enjoyed myself. 

But there's this one scene when Mom realizes she needed to get home to her family, and suddenly the whole point of the movie became clear to me. 

Family is everything.

Dad did everything he could do to provide for his family and be there for his kids when they needed him. While he did the best he could, he needed a partner. He couldn't do it alone. When Mom left, even though it was only for two weeks, the house kind of fell apart. I remember the rare times that my mom was unavailable for some reason or another, and Dad was on dinner duty. Usually this resulted in a quick drive to the nearest KFC or a brief call to Domino's. Our shoes were probably left in the living room, we probably left the TV on too long, but we didn't have anyone to cry to when our day at school was bad, and I certainly didn't have anyone to talk to about the cute boy I was crushing on at the time. Bottom line, we still needed Mom.

Mom was our rock. When she was happy, the house was happy. If she was mad, the house was mad. Funny how one person can be so dynamic. On the more common occasions that Dad was unavailable, Mom would step in to fill his shoes as best she could. We'd still eat  homemade dinners, the house would be a little cleaner, but we wouldn't have a pitcher to hit some softballs with, and we certainly didn't someone to talk about all things Harry Potter. Bottom line, we still needed Dad.

The movie just helped me realize how valuable my mom and my dad are individually. I wish all kids could grow up with parents as talented, well-rounded, funny, and strong as I did, but in today's world, where family is slowly deteriorating, that's not as common as I wish it could be. In fact, I think many problems involving public education could be solved if students could have more support at home (but that's another post for another day). That's why I resolve right now to be the best mom my kids have ever seen. True, I don't have kids yet, but one day I will. And I'll make them put their shoes away, turn the TV off when it's been on too long, make them dinner every night most nights (let's just be honest here - sometimes dinner is just a phone call away), and make sure to kiss their father when I know they're watching. Eric will be there to toss the Frisbee with them (and I'll be there for when he accidentally hits them in the forehead, which will inevitably happen I'm sure), tickle them until happy tears run down their cheeks, talk Avatar: The Last Airbender with them (actually, I'll do that too), and be there for them on the rare occasion I can't be. 

Because that's what parents do, right?

August 1978

January 2013 - Only missing Eric :(