Movie Review: Mom's Night Out

We're not big TV people.  In fact, we don't even have a TV.  We have an entertainment center, but replacing the big black "idiot box" in the designated "tv spot" is my diaper bag along with a few throw blankets.  Instead of dvd, vcr (do they still make those?), and blue ray players, we have Pictionary, Skip-bo, Backgammon, Scrabble, and Chess stacked in the cubby above it.

However, Zenith and I do like the occasional movie, which we watch on our laptop if we can find something that won't end in that frustrating "I can't believe I wasted 2 hours of my life on that!"  So recently, my sister Angie, who lives in Kansas, and I decided to skype and watch a movie together.  We'd heard good things about the movie, Mom's Night Out so we put it on and were pleasantly surprised.

Many "family" movies of today, featuring Moms as the heroine, aren't relatable (at least not to me).  They often show the husbands/fathers being lazy slobs, vegging out on the couch in front of the TV after work, taking very little part in the family.  The wife/mother usually finds herself stretched thin, packing lunches, getting kids ready for and to school, working a job, taxiing her children around to sports and after school activities, rushing home to make dinner and spending the rest of the evening cleaning the house, taking care of her two ungrateful children (because who has more than that these days?), and cleaning up after her husband (who since he's come home hasn't done a thing besides grab a can of beer from the fridge and plop on the couch).

Throughout the typical story, the wife/mother realizes she is overworked (I'll say!) and under-appreciated and goes through some type of "mommy crisis/freak-out."  The story ends with a big group hug as the husband and children realize that they've taken advantage of the wife/mother, and promise to be better.

Very different from this typical story, we now look at Mom's Night Out.  Allyson has a beautiful family, and a loving, supportive husband and she knows it; so why does she feel unhappy?  Is it the chaos from her three, energetic children?  Is it because she is a clean freak and can't seem to keep up with the mess that comes with having small children?  Is it because maybe she's just not cut out to be a mother and is failing at everything?  That's what she seems to think and doesn't quite know what to do about it.

She decides she's overdue for a girls' night out with two friends, leaving the kids to have "daddy time."  After a whirlwind of a night, during which nothing turns out the way she planned and complete with a visit to the police station, she (and movie viewers) learn some valuable lessons.  She realized that as moms, we do get overwhelmed, have "moments," bad days, and feel just plain worn out; but it's okay.  And it doesn't make us failures.  She finally understood that not only did God give her the children she has, but He also gave those children her specifically as their mom.  He knew she was perfect for them and with His grace, could raise them well.

All it took was for her to accept her vocation of motherhood, embracing the good with the bad, and finding the joy in the "little" moments; those small things which seem otherwise insignificant, but are really tiny gifts from God.  Movie watchers finish this movie with more than the message that mom needs a break (which she most certainly does from time to time).  The moms sigh in relief that there are other wives and mothers out there who feel the same way, and they can stop feeling so guilty for all their "shortcomings."  With God's help, we are all "good enough" for our families, and we need to stop insulting God by saying we're not, because He is the one who made us after all.  Stop trying to do it on your own, and accept the the hand which He lovingly extends, remembering that we can do all things in Him who strengthens us.

At the end of the movie, Allyson admits that she isn't always smiling, but she's smiling more.  That's a good reminder to us that there will always be hard times, but our crosses as mothers don't have to always bring us sorrow.  They can also bring us joy; those triumphant moments when your children are all screaming "MOOOOOOOOOOOOMMY!" and you're pulled in a million directions, but you pause for a second to offer this moment to God, knowing that even though once again the laundry will be left undone at the end of the day, it's okay.  As my sister Kaite often reminds me, would God rather have you attending to your children, taking care of their small needs and in doing so, showing them the love of God, or would He rather you get the laundry done?  Sure, you're children aren't going to die if they're pushed away saying, "not now" or "I'm busy," and it's good for them to know how to be patient and wait, but stop feeling so guilty that you put your children first and now some part of the housework is undone.  It'll still be there tomorrow!  Housework is always there.  It will always need to be done.  In doing so, we will also be embracing our vocations of motherhood, and find that peace as Allyson did.

Don't neglect yourselves either, Moms!  Sometimes we need to step back and away in order to remember these things.  Don't feel bad about coming to the end of the day and feeling good about putting the kids to bed...there's a reason God made children to need more sleep than parents. ;)  And don't feel bad about needing a girls night, or getting a babysitter and going out on a date.  We'll all be a much better mommies for it.

Sometimes Moms just need a night out!

~Lindsay