I often contemplate the complexity of life as I try to fall asleep. The tasks that each of us juggles, the price one is willing to pay for what one has, the acceptance of what our place is in life and so on. It isn’t a simple thing to delve into while attempting to turn off for the night, but it is something that I can’t really help. We’ll call it “late night philosophy” for lack of a better term. I don’t know if it has become more of a sleeping ritual that I’ve developed or something that helps me deal with the next day ahead of me. What I do know, is it gives me some good time to sort all the piles in my head and decompress.
Laying in bed sick today I couldn’t help but have my mind wander off in similar directions. Drifting between sleep and half-ass watching episodes of Ugly Americans while I did this didn’t seem to help any cause either. When I finally ran out of episodes to watch, I started to surf other things that might be something that I could zone out enough on to continue my semi-conscious state. What I ended up finding was The Christmas Bunny. While not typically not the type of film I’d watch, I’m a sucker for anything involving rabbits as you have undoubtedly discovered by now.
The story tells of a family on hard times that has decided to apply to be a foster home for kids. As part of their trial run, The Coopers welcome Julia to their home. Julia, a child who has jumped from foster home to foster home was brought into the system after her mother ran into numerous law problems due to her “night time” profession and drug use. Julia always got sucked back into it each time her mother claimed to be better. However, that never seemed to be the case. It left the child scared emotionally to the point she wouldn’t speak to others and a growing attachment to a VHS copy of The Velveteen Rabbit she was given one night. She seemed to shut down and watch the video as a way of making it through the day.
The day after she came to the Coopers, they went to celebrate Christmas Eve with another part of their family. After all the family things were taken care of, the house was brought to attention to see what the younger boys had been doing outside with the newly gifted BB guns. What did they do? They shot a pet bunny that had found its way outside. Quick to take care of the bunny, the family decides to take him to a vet who was kind enough to take the call on Christmas Day. Faced with the decision of huge vet costs that they couldn’t afford due to both parents being out of work, they go with a fourth option presented by the vet. Not that far out of town there was a woman known as “The Bunny Lady” who knew best how to take care of the injured, non-feeding rabbit. Agreeing to take care of the rabbit, the woman takes Rumple in get him well. By now, Julia is clearly forming a bond with the bunny. A bond that won’t only fuel her own recovery, but of the others that are clearly in need around her.
The film was put together rather well, had plenty of bunnies, and did what holiday movies should aim to do- bring people together. Like sappy movies? Want to add a little bit of a warmth to your holiday? Then I’d recommend it.
At the end of the film, I couldn’t help but relate to some of the elements. As a kid, I rarely had someone or something to connect with. Friends were few and far between until late into elementary school (middle school for folks with those). It was a problem associated to the things I had to deal with growing up. Pets, they were another story. I remember having two very loyal dogs as a young child, but eventually having to give them up. I know one of those pets ended up having a very success, fulfilled life with a family that loved him on a cattle ranch. For that I’m grateful. However, after that I can’t seem to recall animals that I really had of my own. There were cats that came and went, either through accident, unknown circumstances, or having to once more give them up. There was a few show dogs that my mom had, but again had to go away. Even some black lab puppies I had after finally convincing my mom that I could have them died in questionable circumstances while I was visiting my family in another city. Between the time frames of those and how it happened, I’m still not convinced they were accidents. But I digress…
The point is, I can understand how a child can become so enamored with a companion when things have been looking so down for what must seem their entire lives. I can relate on some points how Julia must have felt, especially when it came to the choices her mother made. Personally I’ve questioned if things would have been better for my own youth had I been removed from our home or at the very least, been allowed (or been granted) the chance to leave. There were many, many times that I wished it would have happened. Sadly, it never did. Don’t misunderstand me, my childhood could have been a lot worse. I love my mother and that will never change. Factually speaking though, it shouldn’t have been a place a child was allowed to grow in. There wasn’t a friend I could go to or even an animal I could hold to make my world feel safe. Instead, I bottled it all up. My head went down, the world was shut out, and I just dealt with the days the best that I could. On the outside I would pretend that it was all OK.
Getting to where I am now has been a struggle. Especially the last four or so years. The light at the end of the tunnel is that I know I’m finally, yet slowly, getting better. Sure things might not always go in the direction I want them to, but it is my life to live. The past may have shaped me, but that doesn’t mean I have to let it constrict me into staying that way. I have a family now. I have a kid that hasn’t had to witness the things that I saw as a kid. She’s been allowed to grow and prosper in a loving environment. I have the most spoiled, yet loving dog ever. I’ve now had my grumpy, but cute as hell bunny for a year now. I even like my old man-esque cat. Things can only keep getting better.
