Tuesday, May 24, 2011

Living at Home in Your Late Twenties Part Two: Groundhog Day Edition

In my last blog post I talked about how I have learned a few different lessons about living at home in my late twenties.  The first thing I learned or felt was that as you change you may not feel like your home is still the same place, because you create a separate identity from the people who live there.  Tied into that first lesson is the fact that things never seem to change.  My house feels as though the same things happen over and over again.  Last night my sister and I got into a fight, probably for the thousandth or millionth time.  We will probably fight again.  My mom is cleaning, my dad is outside doing yard work, and my sister is trying to find a place to do what she needs to do (i.e. talk on the phone).  I feel like I have woken in Groundhog Day (1993) like Bill Murray and my days have blurred together.

The great thing about the movie Groundhog Day is first it stars Bill Murray in one of his funniest roles ever as weatherman Phil who goes to this small town to report on Groundhog Day; Phil ends up re-living the same day over and over again.  As Phil gets tired of the monotonous events in his life he starts to do crazy things, eating whatever he wants, killing himself to make the day go quicker, assuming that he is some type of God or as he would say in the film "I'm not thee God."

The movie focuses Phil getting things right and being the best he can be for everyone ( a lofty goal that can only exist in film) but this has a darker Capra-esque quality to this film.  Similar to It's a Wonderful Life in this film Phil figures out that his life has meaning and even in this small town he can make his valuable relationships special.  There is a love story as well which involves Andy McDowell, and it is cute, but the heart of this story centers around doing right by everyone, and not always being so cynical about life.

So as my dad is mowing the lawn, or as my mom is cleaning the house, and things seem to stay the same day in and day out.  I should make the most of my time at home and try and be the best son and brother I can be, because these moments are fleeting. I hope I never wake up at 6:00 am while home....

No comments: