Thoughts on C’mon C’mon

For as long as I can remember I’ve always been obsessed with memory and keeping memories. It was really important to me when I was a kid to try and keep these snapshots in my head. I was a very nervous child and I really hated forgetting stuff, if you know me in real life you will also know this hasn’t changed one bit.

When asked about C’mon C’mon I told people it’s “about” an uncle taking care of his nephew for maybe a month or two while his mom helps out the kids’ dad. That’s what’s happening in the movie but is that what it’s about?

The last two years have been… trying. As it has been for everyone but I’m writing right now and not you so you have to listen to me. I am in a wonderful relationship with a girl who I love dearly and cares for me in ways I never thought I deserved. I’ve lost friends in very undramatic and lonely ways. I’ve never felt more othered by family then I do now. So, a big up but lots of downs.

I’ll be driving in the areas of people I don’t talk to anymore and remember moments, or my parents will ask how a friend is doing and I just have no clue. It’s so overwhelming sometimes and often I feel like running away, but something I’ve really found the last year is just embracing the pain of memory. And now I feel a lot like I did when I was much younger than I am now. What if I forget all of the last two years and just sort of compress in a proverbial trash compactor and only remember the really big things? What if I forget the times I woke up earlier on a weekend and take a look at my tomato plant or the time my significant other bought Lord of The Rings-themed cookies for a watch party we had for the movies?

This is what I think C’mon C’mon is “about.” Realizing that in the moment you simply must remember the things that happen to you and the things that happen to the most important people around you.

I worry often about the future and what I might become. I might lose more people around me and maybe I’ll have to work in a kitchen again, but something that helps me greatly is understanding that I’ll have no idea what memories I’ll hold dear to me in one year’s time. That’s a nice thought.

I’m sorry I haven’t talked much about the movie. You should see it. It’s sweet and quiet and more emotional than intellectual.

Thanks for reading it means a lot.