I just finished writing a story about two moms who found time last week to go to the movies and step away from their responsibilities as mothers and wives. The moms saw “The Women” as part of a premiere event that a local moms group, Moms Out Loud, was sponsoring.
Originally, my article was going to be about the parallels between the mother’s lives and those of the movie’s characters. Because of space constraints, however, I found it was too difficult to delve into each of the mom’s lives and do them justice. The story, in its first draft, fell flat.
After talking with my editor about the story, though, we thought of a different angle: Why not turn it into a mini narrative — a slice of life piece? Once I had a clearer focus, the words flowed from me with ease. The story wasn’t pegged to any particular news event. It was just a story about two moms finding time to bond together, a story that celebrates motherhood and friendship.
Click here to read the short story:
In between bites of chicken nachos and coconut shrimp, friends Julie Bearden and Monique Swinson giggled while watching The Women at the Studio Movie Grill in Plano.
“That’s so you,” Ms. Swinson whispered to Ms. Bearden as they watched Debra Messing’s character taking care of a house full of children. “Yeah, no kidding,” Ms. Bearden said, sipping on iced tea.
Critics of the movie, which is a remake of George Cukor’s 1939 film, say it does little more than skim the surface level of complicated issues concerning relationships.
But this outing wasn’t about movie criticism. It was about Ms. Bearden and Ms. Swinson finding time to put aside their responsibilities as moms and wives and to relax together as friends.
Word on the Street 