Traveling With a Twilighter

Last week the whole family, including our son and our grandchildren Caitlyn (11) and Charlie (7) took a trip to Seattle and Victoria, B.C. The purpose was primarily to visit our daughter and her son Cole (5). Another very important goal, however, for our granddaughter was to go to the locations that the films in the Twilight series were shot. The day trip was to stop in Port Angeles where Bella and Edward had their first date by eating at the Bella Italia. Later we would visit Forks, Washington, where Bella and Edward met in high school, see the baseball field where the vampires fight the werewolves, see Bella's house and red truck, and walk on the beautiful Pacific Coast beach of La Push. The next night Caitlyn was to see the midnight premiere of the third film, Eclipse. The rest of the family simply went along for the ride.

I am trying to remember my life as an eleven year old when I hear Caitlyn read from her famous quotes book from The Clique series of books and movies, statements like "Ugly girls should stay inside." Her own original quote on this vacation, hopefully just as satiric as the previous one, is "Life is full of disappointments; I didn't get a sausage biscuit today." As I compare my life with Caitlyn's, I realize what a privileged life she lives. The only birthday party I ever had was celebrated my 11th year with a cookout at the Indian mounds in Greenville, Mississippi. One of my mother's current boyfriends, Joe, helped to pay for it; and we celebrated jointly with a friend who was born one day after I was.

I long to know how Caitlyn's life will go. Will she always been as self-absorbed as she is now? Every act is dramatic it seems, yet there are moments of incredible generosity hidden among many selfish acts. She gives us money when we are struggling to pay a small bill with cash; she takes cheese from her tacos and puts it on her brother's taco when he gets none on his; she, in essence, shows us occasional glimpses of her humanity. I remember Paul McCartney's interview a number of years ago when asked by an interviewer what he hoped for his children. He responded by saying simply, "It was always Linda's and my hope that our children would have good hearts." I concur.