Greetings Treat-A-Weekers,

I had to go on a week-long, all-regularly-scheduled-programming hiatus because “Mom Life” totally overcame me as my little guy (Elmo, above) had a fever for 5 days.  Before you stop reading this post thinking to yourself, gag, not another sappy blog post about the worrying yet fulfilling life of a Mom; rest assured, this post is not that. Rather, this post is for those who know being a mom is hard as heck, unglamorous (except for those perfect holiday cards), often thankless, extremely worrying, anonymous, uncompensated, a frequent adventure and career killer, and in practice, a very different experience from the rosy, airbrushed version of it that we inhale on social media. Interest piqued? Do read on…

So, I loosely define “Mom Life” as that state/phase of being where one’s role in life, identity and very reason for being is to be the caretaker of small humans who are in constant need of one’s manual labor and/or attention.  I strive to have a life outside of my own Mom Life as a self-employed consultant, fun and supportive friend, and informed and participatory community, American and world citizen. But with three kids, ages 13, 10, and 3, a partner with an extremely demanding work and travel schedule, and as our family’s de facto house manager, it’s not that easy and sometimes it’s simply impossible. Given this, there is very little I enjoy more than the exploration of those living the Mom Life, who succeed in finding humor, ways to exercise their intellectual muscle, deviate from the expected, and somehow, maintain their original, undiluted sense of self. Below please find some suggestions for a movie, a television show and a novel that excel in the “Mom Life With A Twist” category and to me, constitute true treats.

Movie

A Simple Favor (starring Anna Kendrick, Blake Lively & Henry Golding)

I saw this movie about a month ago while it was still in theaters on a Friday night with my husband and my friend MJ.  We all had our doubts about the wisdom of our (ok, my) viewing choice when we looked around us, noticed that the girls behind us had snuck in alcohol, and realized that we were the oldest people in the theater by about 15 years.  That said, A Simple Favor, based on the 2017 novel by Darcey Bell kept us entertained from start to finish. It’s the story of two young-ish mothers, one a widowed, single, perfect hands-on mother (Anna Kendrick) of a first grade aged son who makes a living via a video blog where she shares innovative kid related tips to other moms; the other a glamazon mom, (Blake Lively), who works in the City for a fashion mogul and whose callous treatment of her son is both laughable and sad.  One day, the ladies’ sons, who are classmates, beg for a playdate after school and an unlikely friendship between their mothers, total opposites, is born.  Sounds sweet, right? Well, that’s before we learn about both ladies’ fairly sordid backstories, a few murders take place, and before one of the moms goes missing.  This movie is a treat because it’s unexpected.  It cannot be categorized neatly under one genre — suspense, character drama, comedy, romance — it’s all in there.  Most refreshingly, though, the traditional “Mommy Wars” debate is nowhere to be found in this film.  The viewer isn’t pressed to judge whether it is better to be a working-outside-the-home mom like Lively or a happy stay-at-home mom like Kendrick. Both roles clearly have their pluses and minuses.  The one thing the viewer can’t help but notice is that despite diametrically different personalities, lifestyles, parenting styles, and life choices, both women are equals in the purity of their love for their sons (though they exhibit this in vastly different ways) and in their intelligence as evidenced by their exchanges of wit and strategy that happen throughout the course of the movie.  Lively and Kendrick have great chemistry together and the movie is filled with twists and turns… a yummy (did I forget to mention that Henry Golding of Crazy Rich Asians fame plays Lively’s husband? :)) two-hour distraction.

Television Show

I Feel Bad (starring Sarayu Blue, Paul Adelstein & Madhur Jaffrey, NBC)

My sister texted me one night a few weeks back to tell me that she caught the pilot of this new show on NBC from creator Amy Poehler and that she found it really funny.  Even though I was headed out of town the next morning, it is so rare that my sister recommends a show to me that I decided to check it out while I packed.  My husband and I watched the first and second episodes together and really enjoyed them.  I think you will too.   I Feel Bad is the story of Emet, a wife and mother of three and daughter of Indian immigrant parents who manages an all-male concept art generation team for the video game industry.  Emet is trying to balance demanding yet enjoyable work with being a a great wife, mom and daughter, but she somehow never meets her own expectations, hence the show’s name.  I enjoy I Feel Bad for several reasons: (1) it is a quick half hour filled with easy laughs in a pretty, colorful setting; (2) Emet’s parents are hilarious. Her Mom, played by Indian chef and actress Madhur Jaffrey is pitch perfect in this role; (3) with episode titles like, “I Get Sick of Being Needed;” and “I Lie To My Kids” you can sense that it’s both funny and relatable:); and (4) Emet is married to a Caucasian man and the show is not about her or their marriage being other or different — it just is and that attitude/portrayal in a TV sitcom has been a long time coming. In short, this show is worth checking out, though a disclaimer, I have only seen 2 episodes and my sister says the third episode was not as good. That said, the comedy that is Emet’s parents’ interaction with each other and their son-in-law alone makes it worth watching.

Book

Mrs. Fletcher by Tom Perrotta

My friend Melynda and I became buddies 8 years ago as Brownie Troop leaders for our oldest daughters. One of the reasons I cherish my friendship with Melynda (besides her fabulousness) is that we love so many of the same things, most notably reading.  For years now we’ve been asking each other what the other is reading and following each other’s recommendations. Mrs. Fletcher, as she warned me, has a good amount of off-color weirdness to it, but I found it riveting reading and it clearly fits my Mom Life With A Twist blog post theme.  Mrs. Fletcher is the story of a Eve Fletcher, a mid-forties divorcee running an elder care facility, who finds herself bored and floundering when her only child leaves home for college.  What Eve gets up to in her son’s absence and the surprising revelations she makes about herself and others are page-turning, thought provoking, and sometimes shocking. This is a novel that explores different meaning(s) of identity, sex, and love and some of the disappointing aspects of motherhood beyond the cute stage all in one novel. It is a unique read that will keep you thinking and guessing and one that you will hopefully find a treat.

And with that, I will sign off and just say, even though I kept it real with this “Mom Life” blog post, please know that I adore my kids, am lucky to have good ones and am very, very grateful for them. They keep my world turning.

Until next week, I remain, very truly yours,

M