So we watched “Where the Wild Things Are” last night with all three boys. At our boys ages (7,9,11) it can be hard to find something everyone will agree on and this movie was not a unanimous choice. Mister Middle School said that he didn’t want to watch it and promptly asked for the 85th time why he couldn’t have a friend sleep over. Of course I patiently answered that we have been very busy the last few weeks and decided we were going to lay low this weekend, and if he didn’t want to watch the movie he could read in his room, but that we would miss him. Number Two decided that he would give it a shot, but was worried it might be scary and didn’t like that fact that it would not follow the story to a tee. Little Man was excited about seeing the movie because it was his favorite book when he was “little”. (just a side note: it was such a favorite book, in fact, that I believe we have owned at least 3 copies of it. It used to go with us everywhere and one of the copies was actually thrown up on during the Great Stomach Flu of Ought Four)
So while I was getting dinner ready, I decided we would eat our pizza while having a picnic in the living room watching the movie. I know that it was a little sneaky of me to serve their favorite food in their favorite way to get them to watch a movie, but sometimes sneaky I must be. It all turned out to be for their own good.
Just to preface our actual movie watching experience, I need to give a brief history of our week. Mister Middle School and Number Two have had tough weeks at school. Both got into trouble and Number Two hated school. Number Two has been hating school this whole year and every time he has a little bump in the road he feels like P and I are mad at him. Little Man had felt kind of left out a couple times this week when his older brothers were doing things he couldn’t. This is a recurring theme for him and I assume it’s a feeling held by most youngests. If you’ve ever see Where the Wild Things Are, I think you’ll know where this is going.
We got our pizza, took our seats and started the movie. Once it began it was a roller coaster of emotions on all sides. Little Man was feeling for the Max character from the get go because his older sister doesn’t want to play with him. Number Two was empathizing with Max because he, too, was frustrated with the way life was going at the moment and has been having a hard time finding the right outlet for his frustration. Mister Middle School wouldn’t openly admit he liked the movie at all, but his quietness and rapt attention spoke volumes. I mean we’ve all gone through middle school (Jr. High) and we all know how hard it can be to fit in at times and I think Max’s struggles spoke to him on some level.
By the end of the movie when Max decides to go back home, Little Man was in my lap crying because Carol (one of the wild things) was going to miss Max and he is going to miss his friend who is scheduled to move away this summer. Number Two was sitting next to P and was really contemplating life and Mister Middle School was curled up with the dog and still being extremely quiet.
When the movie ended we all talked a little about what we liked and didn’t like about the movie as we made our way to bed. As I tucked in Number Two we talked about how proud P and I are of him and we love him no matter what. I reminded him we would always be there and that, no matter what, he could confide in us and we would help him solve his problems. He acknowledged this and let me know he was going to try really hard next week in school to be more appropriate with his responses to teachers and his frustrations. As I tucked in Little Man he talked about how sad he would be if his brothers came in his room and broke his trophies, like Max broke his sisters things. And we also cried together about how sad it will be when his friend moves, but also talked about how neat it will to have a pen pal and how exciting it will be when his friend comes back for visits. As I said good night to Mister Middle School, I just told him I love him and that I’m proud of him, hopefully letting him know that I understand that it’s not always easy for him. Also, wanting him to understand that no matter what happens out in the world, this is a safe place.
As P and I sat down and talked after everyone was down for the night, we agreed that the movie wasn’t necessarily how we would have chose to adapt the beloved book. We spoke about how it seemed obvious that the director/adaptor didn’t have kids of his own. It wasn’t something we’ll watch over and over again. We may not ever watch it again. But it was something that brought us all together for one brief moment in a particularly tough week. It was one of those moments in parenting that will not soon be forgotten.
