Now a major motion picture

So the Oscars are on tonight. I haven't watched it in years, but I love the fashions and wrongly predicting the winners. As I was looking at the paper this morning with the Oscar ballot, I noticed a book on my shelf, The Reader, now a motion picture that has at least two nominations (Best Picture and Kate Winslet, Best Actress) this year. And it reminded me of my "thing" with books and movies.

First of all, the book is always better than the movie. Actually, I have one exception. I liked Paul Rudd and Jennifer Aniston in the movie, The Object of My Affection, more than I liked the book. But I digress.

Here's my thing. Because I feel the book is better, I won't watch a movie if I want to read the book. And since I haven't had much free time to read lately, I've collected quite a few books and haven't seen quite a few movies. Here's a list of a few:

• Cold Mountain
• Memoirs of a Geisha
• Chocolat
• The Perfect Storm
• Mystic River
• The DaVinci Code
• No Country for Old Men

Then there are a few movies that I don't own the books, but I won't watch the movies until I've read them including The Lord of the Rings trilogy.

And there is a movie that I've seen because I couldn't wait, but the book is on the shelf ... The Devil Wears Prada.

And there are books that I've enjoyed that have been made or are being made into movies that I'd like to see ... The Secret Life of Bees, Little Children and coming out this year, Push (I think the movie is called Precious) and The Lovely Bones. I'm happy about these, even though I'd like to re-read Push and The Lovely Bones before the movie. Oh well, the cycle never ends.

One and ... done

There's a baby boom going on in my little world. In the last few months close friends, relatives, colleagues and coworkers have welcomed little bundles of joy into the world. And a couple more are expecting. I've enjoyed seeing the baby pictures and buying the baby gifts (especially for the little girls).

Couple that with the woman in the news who recently gave birth to the 8 babies and the fact that Preston is two years old and I get the "little brother or sister" question more than ever and I basically have baby on the brain!

So, if you haven't asked and were wondering ... the answer is, "Nope, I'm done." I guess I didn't get the gene that the woman with the 14 kids got -- I've never had the desire to have lots of kids. In fact, for years and years I was convinced that I'd be fine without even one. And then Preston came along. Those first few months were very difficult. I loved Preston more than I ever thought possible, but I also missed my Mom so much that it hurt. My grandmother made plans to come and stay with me and Mark after Preston was born, but she had to go in the hospital just before and her health continued to decline after that. So, most of the time I was alone because Mark was working third shift and quite frankly overwhelmed. I had family members and good friends who were a big help, but I couldn't help but envy girlfriends who had their mothers there for them during such a special time. Now with both my Mom and grandmother gone, I can't imagine having another child.

I also can't imagine having another child because I wouldn't be able to love him or her the way I do Preston. I used to always ask my grandmother how she did that with nine children. And she always said that she loved them all the same. While I would never call her a liar to her face, I didn't buy that for one minute. It was clear to me who her favorites were. She may have loved them all the same, but she sure "liked" them differently. To me, it would be like cheating. Thank goodness other women don't have this flawed way of thinking because there would be a whole bunch of only children in this world.

Then there's the age thing. I will be 39 next month, which means I would have to get started really quickly to have another by age 40. Not that there's anything wrong with that, women do it all the time. But my hair is already graying and I don't want my child to have to tell his friends that I'm his Mom and not his Nana.

I must confess that I do get a tiny little pang every time I see a baby girl. I always thought I'd be buying lots of pink stuff and eventually Mommy and me outfits. And even though I ended up with a baby room with a jungle theme instead of pink and brown ladybugs -- I'm good. One day I'll convince a friend or family member to use that pattern. In the meantime, I'll continue to enjoy the trials and jubilation of raising a little boy and continue to give this response to those who think we should have another, "Why mess with perfection."