The theme of this April has been rain.
Akin to that old saying, “when it rains, it pours.” And also, that other one about April Showers so whomever is out there I’M WAITING FOR THE MAY FLOWERS ANY DAY NOW.
It has been pouring rain in my life both figuratively and literally for the last week.
This past Sunday, while on a rainy Florida Vacation, my husband and I watched the much acclaimed movie “Everything Everywhere All At Once.”
A movie summary on Wikipedia describes it as such:
Evelyn Quan Wang is a middle-aged Chinese American immigrant who runs a laundromat with her husband, Waymond… [T]he laundromat is being audited by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS); Waymond is trying to serve Evelyn divorce papers in an attempt to get her attention so they can talk about their marriage; Evelyn’s stern and demanding father… is visiting for her Chinese New Year party; and [her daughter] Joy is dealing with depression and has a strained relationship with her mother, which also includes Evelyn’s reluctance to accept Joy’s lesbian relationship with her non-Chinese girlfriend Becky.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Everything_Everywhere_All_at_Once
None of these things, by themselves, are insurmountable. Maybe difficult, yes. And maybe they are not necessarily a thing that can be resolved satisfactorily, or quickly, but they aren’t without hope for improvement.
The challenge, here, is that ALL THESE THINGS are demanding Evelyn’s attention ALL AT ONCE. (And we’re not even taking into account the whole parallel universe storyline). She is trying to address these varied issues simultaneously, and must do so extremely quickly without the luxury of extended forethought or planning and – in many cases – without all the information needed to make the decision. She’s trying to plan the ending before she really understands the beginning.
And that, my friends, is what this week has felt like.
Okay, now I have to warn you about a spoiler alert.
If you haven’t watched the movie yet, you should. Go do it now and come back. I’ll wait.
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In the end, Evelyn realizes that her biggest strength isn’t herself, and it isn’t the different badass versions of her parallel-universe-selves, it in her support system. It’s in her family – her husband Waymond and her daughter Joy.
I mean, at least that’s how I interpreted it. I could be wrong. (It’s happened before.)
But that’s my version and I’m sticking to it. And also using it to segue into my next point:
Umbrellas.
I am so, so grateful for the wonderful people in my life who surround me and support me and lift me up in my deepest struggles. On my rainiest days.
My husband, my friends, my neighbors, and all of those people whom I know would drop anything at a moment’s notice. Who would offer any small kindness they could. You are my umbrellas in the storm. Please know that I would be there to return the favor.
Thank you for your shelter. I can’t do this alone and I appreciate each and every one of you.
Let’s look for those May Flowers, yes?
