As most of you know whether you live in Texas or not, Texas has experienced a great deal of flooding this spring. It has been a huge blessing and relieved the state from a 4 year drought, but very sadly, it has brought a lot of devastation and tragedy.
One story that stood out to me is the story of the McComb family from Corpus Christi. A quick background - family of four, including 2 young children who were spending the Memorial Day weekend in a house on the river in Wimberley, TX. The river rose incredibly quickly - 30 feet in one hour - and their house was actually swept off its foundation and taken down river. The house hit a bridge, broke in two, and the husband was separated from the rest of the family. Miraculously, the husband and dog survived. But very sadly, the wife and two young children did not.
I can hardly type the summary of their story without crying, because I can only imagine how scared and helpless the parents must have felt - to know that your children's lives are very much in jeopardy and you have no way to help them. You cannot calm their fears. You cannot save them. There is no entry in the parent manual for rescuing your children in a house floating down a river.
This story brings me to my point. I never realized before I became a mom that my media viewing and reading would forever be changed just because I was a mom. The moment I became a mom, I instantly felt every mother's pain, every child's pain, and even every father's pain. Here's how my media viewing has changed -
1. Commercials - I used to cry through the SPCA commercials (you know the ones that play Sarah McLachlan's "Angel"). Now, I'm not going to say those are cheerful ads to me now, but they don't come close to affecting me the way the St. Jude ads do. Oh my gosh, I want to give all of my inheritance to St. Jude's every time I see those ads. Or that Johnson & Johnson ad where the nurse is helping the girl with her cancer meds - geez - I cry every time.
2. News - I used to read every news story on CNN. I was completely up-to-date on our war efforts. Now? I am terribly uneducated on our latest warfare initiatives. It's not because I don't care. I just cannot read about soldiers and civilians dying every day. Because in my mind, every soldier is someone's child or parent. Every civilian is someone's child or parent. I would literally lose an hour of each day due to crying if I read CNN's war stories everyday.
3. TV Shows - Last week, I shared my love of Bravo. Well, I love Bravo, because it is total escapism. I really only have tolerance now for sitcoms and reality TV. Seriously, I watch The Daily Show, Bravo, Modern Family, Black-ish, and Silicon Valley. That's it. My husband forced me through the entire series of Breaking Bad...it was torture. Don't get me wrong. It's a well-written, acted, and directed show. But watching an entire family slowly deteriorate and self-destruct unnecessarily was really painful to watch week after week.
4. Books - Now, I don't have a great deal of time to read these days, but when I do, what do I choose? Something light-hearted or a thriller or a ghost story. I don't even have a great deal of interest in reading educational books any more. I just need total fictional escapism. By the way, I need a new book, too. If you have recommendations, please let me know.
5. Movies - Again, I rarely see movies any more. And when I do, it's almost always animated. But if I were to choose a movie, I assure you it would not be Shindler's List. It would not be Sophie's Choice. It would not be any number of amazing movies that involve suffering and sadness, particularly related to a child. In the short period of time, I have to watch a movie, I do not want to spend that time in a sad, deep depression, watching a drama-filled, emotional film.
To rap it up, I just didn't realize that being a mom would radically increase my capacity to empathize and sympathize with every mother and child around the world. I had no idea that my heart would be so full of compassion for parents and children I don't even know. And if you are already a mom, you know what I'm talking about. If you are planning to become a mom, make sure you get in all of your emotional media viewing now!
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