Five Things I Learned from Alexander, His Family, and His Very Bad Day

Disclaimer:  If you haven’t seen Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No-Good, Very Bad Day, don’t read this yet! But do go see it. It’s good!

This weekend at an all-night movie lock-in for high schoolers, we got to see Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No-Good, Very Bad Day. Really, those adjectives are a bit of an understatement.  Their day was really chaotic to say the least, but overall, they survived and at the end of it, were still a good, solid, loving family. Really, that matters more than anything.

 

I learned some things from Alexander and his family and here are my top five:

1. Teamwork within a couple really matters. Alexander’s dad was suffering a job loss. Several months into his job search he was still at home being “fommy” (a new term I learned during this viewing), a “father mommy.” He was a stay-at-home dad and managing pretty brilliantly. Even though he was going through some personal difficulties sure to be a challenge, he supported his wife who’d returned to the workforce and he became her biggest cheerleader. She, in turn, appreciated how he kept the family together and running at home.

2. Sometimes you get the girl after all. Alexander liked the very pretty, popular girl who seemed sure to be out of his reach. After all, he admitted his life was a series of bad days. Even after he set her textbook ablaze, she saw through the craziness of his life and gave him a chance after realizing he really was a good guy.

3. Don’t answer the phone while driving.  Just don’t. Alexander’s brother learned this the hard way. It set into motion a series of smallish disasters and all in the name of trying to keep his girlfriend from being mad at him.

4. Show up for your siblings. Despite their insane day, the family “showed up” for each person’s event.  Big brother got to his prom dinner (that ended with a pretty surprising and wise decision made on his part), sister got to perform (so to speak!) in her star role of her 8th grade play, and Alexander…well, he got his over-the-top birthday party after all.  The whole family was together to share in the ups and downs of it every step.  (And Australian animals (Alexander’s favorite) are quite fabulous).

5. Happy endings really are the best part of the movie. I still love whimsy and neatly sewn up endings where everyone is happy.  I’ll never change. Who doesn’t want a happy journey with the promise of a happy ending?