I Am Cast Away

Life can be a beautiful thing. For example, my experiences in nature last week were beautiful.

This scene below is beautiful, too, right?

I'll bet you'd be surprised to know that this is an image from the movie Cast Away (starring Tom Hanks). In this movie, a FedEx executive, Chuck, must transform himself physically and emotionally to survive a crash landing on this deserted island.

Chuck eventually finds a volleyball in one of the many FedEx packages that float to shore with him, paints it with his own blood and names it "Wilson." Chuck slowly develops a deep friendship with Wilson. There's nobody else to talk to, afterall...

Chuck finds great joy in things he would have found "simple" in his pre-crash life. Here Chuck revels in the joy of creating a fire.

Chuck changed a lot through his experiences. Although he did look a bit worse for the wear when all was said and done, he eventually left that island (experiencing the heartbreaking loss of his best friend, Wilson, in the process). Chuck was a survivor in every sense of the word.

When I'm pregnant, I feel like a castaway, too. Like Chuck, I am being physically and emotionally transformed every day. While thankfully my children are a bit more talkative than Wilson, I can relate to Chuck's feelings of isolation, and the repeptition of the same mundane tasks of survival day after day after day...

And remember Chuck's JUBILATION when he was able to make a fire? He shouted for all (or none) to hear:

"I have made fire!!"

Some nights, if you're in my neighborhood, you might see me pounding my chest (like Chuck) and shouting:

"My children are asleep!!"

When all is said and done--after all the difficulties, challenges, and heartbreaks of childrearing are over--I hope to be a survivor, too. I hope I'll look back with fond memories and laughter. But in the meantime, I fear I'm beginning to feel and look a little worse for the wear. What do you think?

Class reunion, here I come... at least I have buff triceps.