Better and better

That song came into my head and I was trying to remember what movie it came from. Recently I've been watching some old movies about divorce. (I wish I could remember all the titles, but I can't.) I watched the First Wives Club two nights ago and a couple of months ago I watched "Starting Over" with Burt Reynolds, Jill Clayburgh and Candace Bergen.

That song "Better and Better" (if that's the title) is what Candace Bergen sings to Burt and it's very funny. It's a good movie. I think that the one scene people remember most is the scene in Bloomingdales, when they're looking for a couch and Burt has a massive anxiety attack. A crowd gathers and his brother, a psychologist, played by Charles Durning, asks if anyone has a Valium and almost everyone takes out their pill bottles to offer one.

I need to watch comedies these days, although I'm still hooked on "The Wire" which is a brilliant show. And actually, McNulty, played brilliantly by Dominic West (he's very sexy) is going through a painful divorce, so aside from all the brilliant police work and excellent characters, that storyline runs like a thread through the seasons.

All I can say is I am doing better. I still feel sad, lonely and angry sometimes. And...more and more I feel excited and joyous and alive. This is a good time really. I can move forward and live the life that is more authentic for me.

I met with my writing partner yesterday and showed him some Pema quotes. I loaned him the pocket book that I usually carry with me all the time. He loved the quotes I showed him. We have to work on a re-write of the ending and that is my focus these days. I'm hoping that we will have another reading with most of the same cast members that we had in at the Berkshires Playwrights Lab. (Or better yet, a workshop or a production.) That, finding work, writing, moving, seeing friends, taking care of the dogs, writing letters to the White House regarding the public option for health care, solving world peace, buying a few clothes that fit me, and having some fun, are my priorities right now.

When I started writing "Scrambled Eggs" almost all of my friends were going through perimenopause. Now almost all of them are dealing with divorce, relationships that are struggling, or trying to survive a difficult economy without it affecting their relationships. I think that divorces seem to be rising in part because of the financial uncertainty of the times we live in. I just heard that a friend of mine got pushed out of an amazing job in an organization she has worked at for over thirty years. She's too young to retire. In her case it's not the money that she's worried about, it's that she loves working and being productive. I know she'll find something eventually.

Next up: "Scenes from a Marriage." Anyone have a Valium?