Every year we face the same conflict: some people feel that relaxation means being as immobile as possible (watching movies, sleeping, and eating) and others want to be outside,
doing something. Whenever we do group activities like a museum some of the family zip through as if on a conveyor belt and others of us like me want to take our time digesting the information. So I have given up on going to museums in a huge family group. This year I think we struck a balance. We planned
things for Monday, Tuesday morning, and Wednesday and the rest were free
days. On Monday we went to Jordanelle Reservoir. If you haven’t been,
go! It is like a beach in the mountains. My kids loved it. You can rent
jet skis or just plain swim. It sure was windy though. If you have long
hair, pull it back.

Before I went I heard on facebook that my sister-in-law Sally was hosting a girls night of watching Pride and Prejudice, all five hours. As she lives in St. George and I live in
Layton, I couldn’t go. I started wondering when I was ever going to
watch the movie. (I have to admit I am probably the last Mormon female,
homeschooling mom in Utah to do so, until last week I hadn’t watched the
movie.) The A&E version is on the TJED for Teens 100 Classics to
study so I was feeling not only pleasure-bound but duty-bound to watch
it. Ahhh, that’s what vacations are for, to do what you ‘ve always
wanted to do! I was excited to figure out that I could watch it on
vacation. I located a copy of the movie from my visiting teacher. She
was happy to loan me her whole set of A&E romance classics on DVD:
Jane Eyre, Emma, Horatio Hornblower, Victoria and Albert, Tom
Jones….ohhh, so many classics, so little time!

So I spread out watching the movie on Tuesday and Thursday with my sister Emily. (This is the sister who is writing a romance novel that will make Jane Austen jealous.) We watched
the movie amidst tending to two toddlers and more comings and goings
from our older children than Grand Central Station. She acted as
navigator to help me understand the complexities of what Glenn Beck
calls a
“bonnet movie.” He jokes how his wife loves to watch these movies
but they put him to sleep because he can’t keep track of all the
relations: “Lord Highbottom is in love with Lady Noble, but she
really likes Mr. Pennywhistle, and meanwhile so-and-so is after
so-and-so.” It turns out my sister had brought a copy of the movie
with her as well. You can be assured that I had called her to borrow
a copy but she was gone the week before, unbeknownst to me, to
another family reunion in Washington.

I loved the movie! Oh, how the cast has mastered, the look! Jennifer Ehle and Colin Firth have it down pat. I read the story in high school but I am finally understanding it. It occurred to me that
Mr. Darcy is a Christ figure because he did what no one else could do
when he saved the Bennett family after Lydia’s poor judgment, and
that is what Christ does. We can follow him by looking around our own
homes, families, and communities and seeing what connections and
resources we have that allow us to do what no one else can do. Then
we serve anonymously, like Mr. Darcy did, feeling that it is an
honor, not a drag.