THE HELP!

Oh. My. Goodness. If you haven't taken the time to watch this amazing movie, then you need to get somewhere and sit down, with a bowl of popcorn, a couple tissues and an open mind. It was seriously one of the best movies I've seen in quite some time! I must confess I didn't read the book. I don't really read books. Ya, I know, shocker. But it puts me to sleep and I get board.. I think I must be partially ADD.

But WOW, this movie was just incredibly cast, written, directed and inspired. So glad it's now part of my collection!

I have to admit I could relate to it on 2 different levels. First of all, I am a product of "help." Although, my mother & father both worked and DID spend time with me when they weren't working, we had an AMAZING lady named Pearl who kept me from age 7mos- 10yrs. You can see a picture of her here! I would never say she was my mother, because she wasn't, BUT she did help to raise me. However, I'm a firm believer that it takes a village to raise a child. I could relate to how Skeeter felt when she came home and Constantine had been let go and how her mother didn't tell her she had passed away and that she never got to say goodbye. I was in the 8th grade when Pearl passed away, but she had not been working for us for about 3 years by that time. She died in the middle of a hurricane so we could not go to the hospital and visit her because the weather was so terrible. So I too never got to really say goodbye and tell her thank you for all that she did for me and my family. She will always have a special place in my heart and she is one person I can't WAIT to see in heaven one day! I know she looks down on me. :)

I could also relate to The Help because I have been "the help." Yep, I was a nanny for 16mos after I graduated from college. It's quite a sensitive subject. I live in an area of SC where having a nanny is kinda unheard of. Most people just send their kids to daycare or moms stay home and keep them themselves. However, there are a handful of  fortunate people around here that have a nanny, and I got to be one. It was quite the experience and in retrospect I wish I'd been a member of "blog world" when I was one.. those would have been some funny posts. Stuff happened to me daily that would make you think "seriously? who does that!" haha

The little girl I kept was 26mos when I started and 31/2 when I was "let go." It wasn't a job to me, I got up everyday and went to play, teach, and love on a little girl who thought I hung the moon. I planned activities and outings. We made cookies, we read books, we took nature walks, we worked puzzles, we played dress up, we played Candy Land, we went to the zoo... yea, not work, if you ask me. Extenuating circumstances didn't allow me to stay with her past July 31, 2010, and her calling me "mom" in front of her mother probably didn't help the situation, but I miss her dearly. I see her pictures on Facebook and it breaks my heart to see her now almost. Sometimes what I see I don't approve of and wish she had a different life. But, she's probably got it better than I think. Anyways, the part at the end of The Help when Mae Mobley says "no Abi don't go Abi" and Abilene says, "I got to baby." Lord, I about lost it. Ok I did. I just felt like that was my little one saying the same thing.

She is now 5, well tomorrow she will be. They were sweet enough to invite me to her "family party" last night. It was so great to see her and spend some time with her. Last year when I went to her party she acted like she didn't know or remember me, which broke my heart. I mean I poured everything I had into the child for 16mos so for her to act like that was a big blow. However, last night we were playing a game on her moms iphone (while waiting for our food) and she turned to me and said "remember when I use to play games on your phone?" So if she remembers that, she remembers a lot more than I thought! I hope I can see her more than 2 times this year (I saw her in Jan & May last year). Hopefully her mother will let me babysit her or just take her to the park or to get ice cream. She's so sweet and turning into a beautiful young lady, and I'm proud to say I had a small part in that.

I have moved on, I know it doesn't sound like it. But I have. I have a "real job" now. I also keep 2 little boys one night a week or every couple weeks and I love them too. So until I have my own children I will be "The Help." It's a title I'm ok with. :)