Jack, you got me.
Sitting up way too late at night*, watching a rerun of one of my favorites, As Good as it Gets, the scene where Melvin leaves his therapist’s office and shouts into the waiting room:
” IS THIS AS GOOD AS IT GETS?”
It stirs me.
I’ve seen this movie way too many times, initially as a huge fan of Greg Kinnear because, well he’s hot, but the lines never hit me as actually being quite this meaningful.
Guilty Pleasure Revealed: LOVED HIM ON TALK SOUP.
Let’s assess the film. I’m no Ebert, but we’ve got two good-looking guys with a ridiculous amount of time on their hands for various reasons, two women who are overworked, overwhelmed, and worried sick about a kid (sound familiar?). Add a whole bat-shit crazy load of neuroses (okay we’re not focusing on my family, okay, too personal) and wrapped it all up in an enchilada with a side of Kuba Gooding, Jr. who stole my heart in Jerry McGuire (remember the kwan?).
Hell, yes, the ingredients are fresh and plentiful, and and Jack’s plastic silverware aside, it made me (damn metaphorical chick that I am) stop and think about the hamster-wheel of our lives:
_______________________________________
{START}
Get up, cursing alarm clock. singing cheerfully.
Shower.
Kiss/clothe/feed children.
Take children to school because we miss the bus.
Go to work. Drink copious amounts of Starbucks. Try to accomplish great things and not be distracted by the joys of Facebook, Twitter, blogs, coworkers, and snacks left by kind vendors. And the weird guy at the copier, staring.
Use the brain that God provided (mama always said (it’s more than a beer-receptacle.)
Commute. Rock out to amazing music on ipod vs. pop radio stations children insist on.
Come home/make dinner/get baths/read bedtime stories. Laugh at hilarious, goofy children. Bark at evil children when they will not go to sleep. Calm children quietly, soothingly to sleep.
Do household chores such as laundry and dishes begrudgingly with glee. Talk with spouse, hopefully not about bills, to-do lists, or what you’ve spent today.
Kiss goodnight.
Go to sleep. Lather. Rinse. Repeat. {END}
____________________________
And I thought to myself, hmmm, self, is this, hell YES, IS THIS as good as it gets?
And myself said back:
“Self, SNAP THE HELL OUT OF IT KATE, YOUR LIFE IS STELLAR.
You have a healthy, amazing family. You have three of four parents still alive and healthy, three beautiful children and a husband that puts up with your freakish tendencies and seems to love you just the same.
You have a blog that connects you to amazing people and allows you to create and spill your guts and to which people listen, you can pay your bills and give a little away and save a little. You recycle, for God’s sake.
There’s a roof over your head, and underneath it there’s a ridiculous mess of clutter and paperwork and rooms that still need to be painted and Barbie-doll heads and Naruto cards and Beyblades and Squinkies that make you crazy because none of them are in their place.
And yes, your daughter’s baby book has yet to be created and she just turned five year’s old. All the pieces are waiting there for you, in case you’ve forgotten. Your oldest kid has a concert t-shirt collection any hipster would envy, so you’re obviously enjoying hip music, quit your barking about being an old chick.
Okay, you have crow’s feet and stretch marks and you’re tired and your face still breaks out on occasion but get over it, sister, you’re 
doing something right because your friends are amazing. You get to travel–no not as much as you’d like but you do, but you do get out and you have wonderful friends, and you want to squeeze the life out of every single minute of your day but for the love of God, girl, sometimes you gotta sleep. You work a ton, but you know how to play, next, learn how to rest.
You write. And that’s a thing that’s good for you, better for you than just drinking wine like you usually do.
And, you laugh, often and boisterously. Way, way too loud (this is the whole world’s opinion talking), but sister, you laugh.
And that is as good as it gets.
And that’s pretty good.”
*every night.
