Life Is Like A Box Of Chocolates...

As I was cruising the demolished Valentine's Day aisles at Target yesterday, I was very disturbed in the new trends of chocolate. I went with one specific purchase in mind. A box of chocolates a la Forest Gump. My heart was sinking as I saw box after box of mocha-java-with-a-hint-of-crushed-organic-raspberries, or mint-mojito-in-peruvian-cocoa and many other hoity toity options. Where were the boxes of Whitman's Samplers?

Samplers were the best part of any holiday in my house. As a kid, prior to the age of the coded diagrams, we became very skilled at lightly denting the bottoms of the candy to ensure that our one choice did not result in extreme disappointment. I'm a creme-filled girl, so the caramels always make me sad. If you push your thumb against it and find resistance, put that thing back because you're bound to be heart-broken. If, however, you find that your thumb is sinking in, grab it before the other sisters do, because it's a jackpot. Every once in a while, you'd get a coconut one by accident, but it was still better than caramel.

I wanted H to have the same thrill of choco-discovery, so was searching for the perfect box. I wandered too far, because I soon found myself in the Easter aisle...seriously, folks, can't we let one holiday's commercialism end before setting the next?

I was about to call off the search party when my eyes alighted on a large, lone heart wrapped in red cellophane with the comforting Whitman's label. I was so excited, but vowed that I'd wait until at least 8pm to open the box without J (giving him a fair chance to eat them with me)...they were, after all, his gift from me. Okay, Okay, they were to me from me, but I knew that he'd been at the hospital all day, and that I had the car so was picking him up, thus no stops at the grocery store on the way home for the last of the bedraggled rose bunches. I deserved those chocolates, darnit!

I had just left the Y after my forty-five minutes on the treadmill, so was delighted by the fact that the 300+ calories I had burned would be put to good use! I know this isn't great logic, but I was honestly going to eat the candy regardless, so at least there was a little offset.

H had refused his nap earlier in the day, so by the time we got done grocery shopping and home, we were both exhausted. Time to call for a pizza..yeah, yeah, the calories from the treadmill were long gone by the time the day was over. As it took awhile, H and I chilled out, playing with the bubble wrap that encased the package from his grandparents, and then he ate and went straight to bed without a bath for the first time in months.

When J called for me to come pick him up, H nestled right into me and didn't even stir as I put on his coat. I picked up J and smiled when I saw him carrying the basket of daisies and carnations from the hospital's gift shop, in addition to a card. Then I felt guilty for assuming I'd get nothing and buying a gift for myself, but that certainly didn't stop me from partaking of the sweets when we got home.

J and I settled in for our romantic evening and watched the ideal date movie Gone Baby Gone (please note the sarcasm). This movie was based on the novel by Dennis Lehane (who also wrote Mystic River). Although definitely not a movie to put you in the mood, it is excellent, earning a 93% on Rotten Tomatoes, and is Ben Affleck's directorial debut with Casey Affleck playing the lead role. This movie begged so many questions about one's moral compass, the decisions that you make, and the repercussions that are inevitable even when you make the right choice.

Here's the opening line, spoken by Casey's character Patrick Kenzie "I always believed it was the things you don't choose that makes you who you are. Your city, your neighborhood, your family. People here take pride in these things, like it was something they'd accomplished. The bodies around their souls, the cities wrapped around those..."

I hope you'll watch it and have a great dialogue. I ended up watching it again today while H napped, in addition to the special features. If you're really honest with yourself, you can argue both sides...even though you may not want to.