When I get a free weekend from my cable provider for the premium channels, Mr. T and I go through and record everything that we want to watch. He gets to his movies pretty darn fast; it takes me much longer to watch mine! Mr. T goes camping every year between Christmas and New Year with his grandparents and I always take one day during that time for me. This year I chose to catch up on my DVR. I watched several movies that day, Hangover 2, Horrible Bosses (which I realized at the end I had already seen), a movie I’ve already forgotten, and 50/50.
50/50
My aunt had cancer, and though she lived in Alabama, she came in every 3 weeks and stayed with my parents and did her treatments here in Texas. Towards the end of her life, she moved down here and bought a house a few blocks away from my parents. I knew that the movie 50/50 would hit some sore spots, so I had put off watching it. If you have ever gone through cancer with a loved one, then several parts of this movie will seem familiar to you. The bonding time over the treatments, the finding a driver to take you to and from your appointments, and, just like in the movie, my aunt shaved her head before her hair could fall out. As far as accuracy goes, it was very similar to what we went through a few years ago.
Adam has cancer and it’s not good. He’s going through this journey with his best friend Kyle, his mom, a crappy girlfriend and his therapist. Adam’s girlfriend ends up cheating on him (which, is not uncommon in this situation.) so that cuts down on his support system. At one point, Adam has just had enough. No one could understand, no one cared like he did, no one could admit that he was going to die, no one was being there for him like he felt they should be.
Wow! Haven’t we all been there? Not to that extreme, thank you God, but had moments where we have felt isolated, alone, on an island all by ourselves. I’ve had moments like that where I would swear that there isn’t a single person out there looking out for me. I’m sure you’ve felt it, when all your friends and family call for help with their problems, but don’t even bother to ask about yours. When you’ve been struggling and your friend texts about an inane subject, not giving any consideration to what you are going through.
We’ve all had those moments when we feel utterly hopeless, isolated and alone and Adam hit that point in the movie, too. He felt insular, removed from everyone in his life. I think that feeling actually closes us off to what is around us, and it was illustrated in the movie. When Adam was at his worst, feeling so very alone, there was a moment when his eyes and his heart were opened. Once he stopped being so upset at everyone else, he was able to see them more clearly. What he saw was that his mom was going to a cancer support group. That she was doing what she could to help him, and that she had others to be there for her to help support her so that she in turn could be there for him. Adam saw that his best friend was reading a book about going through cancer together. Not only was his best friend reading the book, but had dog eared and underlined and highlighted pages. Kyle wasn’t being a total dope, but was doing what he could to learn how to be there for Adam.
When that feeling of hopelessness settles in, it is easy to close our heart and minds off to those around us. I think that if we stop for a moment, and allow our hearts to open, we might really see the good in those around us. We might see that despite what it originally looked like, their hearts are there for us. They are willing to support us and be there for us, if we will only let them. And, with an open heart, we should let them. Let people in, let them help!
Of course, there are those that just don’t care and will text you about inane subjects with no consideration to what you are going through! They still will exist, no matter how open your heart is! Just like you have those in your life to help you; maybe you were put in their life to help them. Just a thought.
Here’s a group of my friends (support group!!), all of which I’m sure would help me shave my head!
Standard disclaimer: Just my thoughts, pictures used by permission (except the one of me and my friends, they’ll just be surprised when they see it – hi Karaboo!), I wasn’t paid to talk about this movie, but if you want to pay me to watch and talk about movies, leave a comment below!
Did That Just Happen Blog 