Greetings Treat-A-Weekers,

Recently some friends mentioned that they enjoy my blog and have been missing my posts. Nothing motivates me more than appreciation and flattery, so their wish is my command….and here you have it, a new blog post! Keep checking the blog this summer, as I will try to publish new installments every two to three weeks to help you all enjoy the best and brightest months of the year to the fullest.

Today’s recommendation fittingly comes courtesy of my sister. We spoke Friday evening (as we do pretty much every day) and she mentioned that she planned to watch a movie based on a true story, Fighting With My Family, with her boys over the weekend. Fighting stars relative unknown Brit actors (at least in my book) Florence Pugh and Jack Snowden, Vince Vaughn (as a cynical talent scout) and Dwanye “the Rock” Johnson as himself. I really enjoyed it. It’s the story of two enviably close siblings raised in Norwich, England by former wrestlers who end up steering their kids to become competitive wrestlers under the ring names “Britani Knight” and “Zak Zodiac.” Britani and Zak help their parents train prospective wrestlers while working toward their own promotion until they get the opportunity to try out for a WWE scout/trainer, played by Vaughn. Vaughn selects only Britani – who is asked to change her name to Paige, to train in America for a shot at the WWE. While on the one hand, this is a dream come true for Britani/Paige, it’s also a nightmare because both she and her brother always imagined that he was the one in the family with the true shot at WWE wrestling fame.

Before you dismiss this movie as not your cup of tea because wrestling is a form of sport/entertainment that you have no interest in, please know that it is about a lot more than that. Lots of movies address sibling relationships, but none that I have seen do it quite so endearingly, funnily and truthfully as this movie. Our relationships with our siblings are some of the most fun, funny, complicated, meaningful and transformative of our lives. I particularly appreciated how this movie explored that nature of personal ambition and its impact on sibling relationships and vice versa while still telling a humorous, feel good story about the importance of grit, character, kindness and embracing one’s individualism on the road to arriving at real success. I once was told that your siblings are truly one of the greatest gifts in life because they are the only people you travel through every phase of it with – childhood, adolescence, adulthood and old age – sharing its highs and lows and its trials and tribulations. I personally will always be grateful to my parents for giving me both my sister and my brother (featured above greeting each other and our kids after not having seen each other in a while). We have our annoyances with each other from time to time, but our shared joy, support of each other and our parents, and companionship is one of the most special and important pieces of my life.

So, my friends, that’s it from me from now. I hope that if you check out the movie, you enjoy it. Until my next post, I remain,

Very truly yours,

M