The Blind Side

Okay, I am totally not a movie nut, movie critic, or anything of the sorts. Shoot, I can't even tell you the last time I set foot in a movie theater, but last night we splurged & took all 8 of us to see "The Blind Side".

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IT WAS FANTASTIC!!!!

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Seriously, we (I'm talking ALL of us) were completely engaged in the movie from beginning to end. I had heard it was a great movie, but having some personal experience with the foster care system & big hearts for adoption, I was a little reserved. I don't want to sound pessimistic, but let's face it, most movies I've seen are "fun", but not real. I have to say that I was more than pleased at how they put this movie together...did it show all of the tough stuff? No, but it addressed some of the bigger, obvious struggles that go along with bringing an older child of another race into your home. And it was so AWESOME to see a family that took their "neat & tidy" life & threw it out the window to give & receive blessings so much bigger than any struggles that they faced.

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I would totally love to have a discussion about the movie, but since not everyone has seen it yet, I don't want to give away too much. There are two things I do want to share, though, that had me BAWLING: First of all, without sharing the details, I was so touched at how they did not make "Big Mike's" mother into a villain, but showed Sandra Bullock*s character actually honoring her & having compassion for her life circumstances. It was really beautiful, in my opinion, & touched me so much because that was one of the biggest life lessons I learned on our journey to Kaya. Second, she was at lunch with friends & one of them made the comment, "You're changing that boy's life". LOVED her response: "No, he's changing mine." Does that not just sum up adoption!?! It's so hard b/c people want to make you out to be some sort of saint or something; I've always wished I could simply, but adequately, put it into words to try to make people understand!

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In the end, I think the saddest part of the movie was when the lights went on in the theater. I looked around & you could see that people loved the movie (actually, there were applause at the end), but I was sad because I wonder how many people walked out never realizing they could be the lead character in a similar story...........