The Stories We Tell

While the whole of the city was treat-or-treating, I was holed up watching Sarah Polley's movie, which I found in the express section at the library. It was deeply moving - and what was interesting was that as a viewer you were moved by everyone's story. The linking narrative was that of Polley's father who raised her . . . but her perspective was the film itself, which was about trying to understand her mother, I think, and then, there were all these other people who each had their own story that in some way related to her mother.

Of course, I brooded over the mother's marriage and relationship trajectory. What was she looking for, I wondered. What did she really find? Why did she make the decisions she did and were they worth it.

I think about this all the time myself. What am I doing in this marriage? Am I able to be fulfilled here? What can I do about it?

I guess for many people, affairs are a way of helping them feel connected and engaged when their marriage doesn't provide them with that kind of emotional intimacy, but what can you do otherwise?