Saturday, January 31, 2009

A-ha

Okay, I think that I solved the mystery of why Ella has been calling me "Mother" rather than "Mom" or "Momma" or "Mommy"! Surprise, surprise...I think it has to do with a movie.

Usually, in the morning, Brett gets Ella going with breakfast and a video while I sleep a little more and/or nurse Lucie. Well, the other morning, she was watching a movie called Summer Magic - it's a Disney Classic that featured Haley Mills. I LOVED this movie when I was a little girl and jumped at the chance to buy it when I saw it online at the Disney Movie Club.


The Synopsis: When a close-knit Boston family loses their fortune, they find a wealth of family secrets, young love, and charming summer nights in Beulah, Maine. A good-natured postmaster, pretentious cousin Julia, and the mysterious absentee landlord, Mr. Hamilton, populate their new life in a charming old yellow house.

Anyway, back to Ella...

In the movie, Haley Mills plays the main character Nancy. In it, she refers to her mother as "Mother". For some reason, that morning after Ella had watched it, she just used the right inflection of voice when she called me "Mother" so that it reminded me of Nancy. Then, it clicked. She picked it up from the movie!

This girl picks up all sorts of things from movies, tv, commercials. I realize how careful I need to be with what is on there. In fact, Brett actually objects to parts of Summer Magic. There is a song in it when Nancy and her cousin Julia are advising a younger girl on "how to catch a beau". Some of their advice includes to "hide the real you." Yeah, I can't say that I want my daughter emulating that in the future. But, rather than banning the movie, I took the opportunity to turn it into a teachable moment. I still love the movie, and I think Ella does too.

2 comments:

Rebecca said...

Oh my gosh! I LOVE Summer Magic. I think you're one of the few people I know who have even seen it.

Janel said...

Rebecca - If you ever want to borrow it, let me know! I used to watch it over and over on the VCR...but I think I did fast-forward the "Summer Magic" song. It's funny how the words to the song just come back to you.