The Greatest Girls' Night

Last night, Will went to a friend's house to watch golf, leaving the girls, me, a box of pepperoni pizza, and Hulu Plus, behind.

"Girls' Movie Night! Woo! Go pick a movie," I told Gracie as I dished up the pizza. She grabbed the Wii Sport disc and stuck it in the player. "That's a game. I said pick a movie," I had to remind her.

Annelie stuck on the Wii people-making game after that, so I had to say, again, that they were supposed to be picking a MOVIE.

"Let's watch Eerie Indiana!" Gracie exclaimed. Best 90's show ever, but...

"I said MOVIE."

"America's Funniest Home Videos!" Annelie exclaimed.

This was getting ridiculous. I was three seconds away from giving up on movie night, and wondered if the kids even knew what a movie was....

"Pass me the remote - I'll pick," I said. So I did. I picked only the BEST MOVIE EVER CREATED.

Yup, that's right. The 1968 Heidi. My most favorite movie when I was the girls' age. I can remember making paper dolls of the entire cast, which I played with non-stop - including a 3-D wheelchair for little Klara.

This movie contains all the classic elements of the perfect, perfect story: orphaned little girl with braids who doesn't even know how to read, mean, reclusive Grandfather who doesn't even want her (but does know how to read!), baby goat on the verge of starvation, in need of a mother (Heidi!), a basket of orphaned kittens in need of a mother (Heidi!), going from poor to wearing fancy dresses with LACE, a sad crippled same-aged cousin in need of tough love and a best friend, and a forbidden romance between the beautiful governess and Uncle Richard. 

Oh, and Maximilian Schell, ie, Uncle Richard?

TOTAL HOTTIE (although back in 1986, child Marisa thought Heidi's friend Peter was way cuter).

Let's just say I laughed and I cried, and the girls laughed, and then wondered why I was crying.

"It's just... it's just... the best movie EVER."

I mean, how could I not get misty-eyed from all the dramatic character and plot changes?

Especially not when there were misty eyes everywhere I looked.

And the nostalgia, oh, the nostalgia! Listening to the girls whisper, "You be Klara and I'll be Heidi when we play, okay?" was just too great.

I got especially teary when Gracie busted out the paper and crayons and asked me to make her a wheelchair for her little paper Klara, who, along with her best friend Heidi, is now on Gracie's bookshelf, proudly displayed  beside my childhood Victorian dolls and teddy bears (which Gracie dug out of a long forgotten moving box a few months ago, and claimed for herself)

When it was done, Gracie said, "Wow, that was a really great movie. You know what I also want to see? Anne of Green Gables."

!!!

I'm not sure I can go there just yet. I'll need to thoroughly hydrate myself, because those eye-mists of nostalgia, and seeing my girls discover Miss Anne with an E, will drain me completely.

Hope you're all having a fantastic weekend, folks! It's raining non-stop here, which means a movie marathon weekend is on the agenda. Can't complain about that!

xoxo,