INSPIRATION!

Okay, for those of you out there that simply can’t be made to feel better about your less than perfekt parenting skills through VINDICATION (watching moms worse than you), then maybe what you need is a little INSPIRATION (watching those impossibly great moms in action).

Now, it’s no accident that many of these films are fantasy or sci-fi. That’s because perfect moms ONLY exist in movies. So if you can keep that in mind, have at the following list: 

TERMINATOR 2 – Talk about an impossibly high standard to meet in mommy perfection. Sarah Connor is an inspiration as the ultimate protective mom. Not only is the fate of her son in her hands, so is the fate of the entire world. This mother kicks ass and takes names. She fights futuristic Terminators out to kill her son. And by saving him, saves the world. Not only are her mommy skills to die for, so are her biceps. She was “cut” before Madonna even knew the word. And while we regular mommies may not be saving the world from termination, we need to give ourselves credit for the fact that we’re making it a better place by raising terrific kids that, let’s admit, we’d kick serious ass for too.

FORREST GUMP – Sally Field is famous for playing movie moms. But this is her greatest mom role. She loves her mentally challenged son, Forrest, unconditionally. She does anything, including sleeping with his principal, to ensure that he gets all the advantages in life. And she leaves him with the most valuable lesson of all. No, not the one about life being a box of chocolates. The one about everyone having a destiny, and her destiny was being his momma. (Okay, pass the hanky. I’m choking up here). And look what her mother’s love did. Despite his shortcomings, Forrest grows up to become one of the most kind-hearted and financially successful men in movie history…and a great dad to boot!  So when you’re feeling a little inadequate, remember that just by loving your kids, like Sally did Forrest, you’re forming them into empathetic, loving people who will also be assets to the world. What inspiration!    

ALIENS – Sigourney Weaver’s Lt. Ellen Ripley may not have actually been a biological mother in this sequel to “Alien”. But there’s no denying that’s what she is to Newt, the little girl who is the lone survivor of a mining outpost planet that has been decimated by the genetically-engineered company experiment that is the scariest alien creature ever to come out of Hollywood. Ripley’s mommy instinct kicks in big time as she battles to protect Newt who herself is a survivor. When Ripley says to the alien, “Get away from her, you bitch” – well admit it mommies…we can relate. We’ve all been there. Whether it’s the bully in the sandbox who picks on our kid or the strange guy at the mall who hangs around the play area, we’ve thought that very thought…and worse.  Also, this movie reminds us that a mother’s love doesn’t have to have a biological link. Love is love. Pure and simple.

TERMS OF ENDEARMENT – Shirley MacLaine made the “bad mommy” list in Postcards from the Edge, but here she is as the “good mommy”. Though they fight like cats and dogs, there is no doubt that Aurora Greenwood (Shirley) is absolutely devoted to her daughter Emma (Debra Winger). When she screams at the nurses that it’s time for her daughter’s medication, well, if that’s not motherly love, I don’t know what is. And anyone who doubts it can take a gander at the Best Actress Oscar sitting on the back of MacLaine’s toilet which she won for that very scene (oh, and the fact that she let her roots show before it was fashionable to do so).  Hell, even Emma knows her mom is a good mom which is why she leaves her kids to be raised by her instead of her husband Flap. Watch with a fully-loaded box of Kleenex and a friend.