My Closet Love for Bloodsuckers

I have to come clean about something that I haven't talked about on here yet.  Over the months that I have been writing this blog, I have felt the love from my little group of readers, so I feel like I can say this without fear of too much harsh judgment:

I am a Twilight fan.

O.K., it's out there.  It shouldn't be a painful thing to admit, but it is.  It is, primarily because I am not a 13-year old girl.  And because I LOVE a good book.  And these, folks, are not good books.  And to be quite honest, the movies are sort of horrible.  But I love them, and it almost makes me feel dirty.

I started reading the first book during the media tour for the first movie.  I just wanted to see what all the dang hype was about.  Five days later I had read all four books.  I could not put them down.  And not because of the riveting writing, but because the story strikes a chord.  It is every girl's fantasy.  And they are easy to read.  They are like candy.  Cheap candy.  Like Skittles that you can't stop eating, even after your saliva has turned into Jello and the insides of your cheeks are all chewed up.  I mean, I abandoned my kids during the days that I read those books the first time.  (Yes, I said the first time.  Judge away, people).

So then I did the only thing a rational woman can do.  I had to get someone else hooked on them so I could talk about my shame with someone.  So I called my poor sister and got her hooked.  It was like giving someone their first joint.  I feel terrible about it and delighted at the same time.

And then the movies started coming out.  The first movie is crap.  Some of the casting is way off, the directing is a joke, it looks low budget, the acting is subpar.  And I loved every second of it.  It's like a drug to me (oops.  Inside joke to the people who share in my shame.)  Sister and I talk about it, and we call it Delicious Garbage.  And that's exactly what it is.  We have started a tradition with these movies where she comes into town (she lives several hours away) for a night when the movie comes out--not the first night, because we don't need to share our experience with that crowd--but during the first week.  We go out to a nice restaurant and get dinner and adult beverages.  Usually it's something like a scotch so we can reassure ourselves that we're grown ups.  Then we go to the movie and turn into dorky teenage girls, taking every scene personally.  It's so ridiculous!  But it's one of my favorite things to do.  We have a great time, and I love that I am so comfy and myself when we hang out.  So that may be why this dang series is so special for me.

Anyway, last night we went to see the first installment of the last film, Breaking Dawn.  Already I'm fighting the irritation that they had to break the last book into two movies, as if they are like Harry Potter.  Folks, there aren't many people around who are bigger fans of Harry Potter than I am.  That is great literature.  And great movies.  And I don't normally believe that Twilight and Harry Potter belong in the same paragraph, much less in the same dimension, but I'm only doing this to say I was worried that they were trying to be like my Harry Potter.

I feel pretty good about it.  It honestly was the best of the movies so far.  I had heard so much crap about this movie, such as "it's slower than turtle sex" and worse.  My expectations were exceedingly low.  But this one was the truest to the books so far.  The two main characters FINALLY get it on, and that scene did not disappoint.  I believe that, best of all, they tried very hard to be true to their twihards.  There were a couple scenes in it that were groanworthy bad, like the dang CGI wolf conversation, but it is Twilight, after all.  My sister and I were basically just hoping it was better than the original Clash of the Titans, the bar for which all wonderful horrible movies can be compared.  And it held up.  Granted, it would have been hard for me to be disappointed due to my low expectations, but I really did enjoy it.  Pretty people.  More laughter.  Beautiful scenery.  And the music was GREAT!  So it was fun, and I don't care who says otherwise.

Okay so tomorrow is Thanksgiving.  I'm off to my family adventure, and I'm not sure if I'll be able to check in very soon.

So I want to wish you all a warm and blessed Thanksgiving.  Take a few minutes to go be alone in a quiet space, and really think about your blessings.  Thank God for the gifts in your life.  Embrace your families, with all their flaws, frustrations, and drama.  Love them.  Laugh with them.  Eat WAY too much food.  And as soon as you're physically able, eat some more.  Make a toast to something.  Stay safe.  Watch some football.  When everyone's busy eating, take a Clark Griswold moment to look around at the people you're with and be in the moment.  Remember to honor traditions.

Happy Thanksgiving.