Yes Man

Austin and I watched Yes Man (with Jim Carrey as "Carl") together, on Friday night. This is a light comedy (rated PG13) about a guy who has been leading quite a scripted life. He's very compliant, not overly ambitious, and certainly not adventurous. He works in financial services for a large U.S. bank, and has the authority to broker loans to entrepreneurs who try to "sell" their ideas to him, in order to qualify for financing. He's been passed over for promotions a few times, has been in the same job for five years, and just missed his best friend's stag! Just before Carl's life began to change, his best friend yelled at him, that he will die a lonely man.
By a series of spontaneous events, Carl ended up at a seminar which promoted saying "Yes" to all opportunities that are presented to him. So, Carl began accepting opportunities that he never would have accepted in the past. He had some unfortunate experiences, but each one led to something good.
At the end of the movie, Austin remarked, "I think there's a message to this movie." And Austin decided to start saying, "Yes," and to try new things. I would ask Austin to clear his place at the table, he would say, "Yes," and do this willingly and right away. Gemma would ask Austin if he would like to join her to pick up Aidan from school, and Austin said, "Yes," and had a great time playing with his brothers.
Last weekend, Skye was taking a Wilderness First Aid course. We picked him up from Lighthouse Park in West Vancouver, around 5:30 on Saturday and Sunday. Skye was running late on Sunday, so the boys and I went for a hike on the trail. We heard an owl in the woods, and Austin was the first to spot it. Then, Austin and Aidan happily skipped up the trail, hoot-hooting away.
Austin said, "I've had an amazing two days, because I decided that these days would be great!"

Now, I will be trying to say, "Yes," more often. Poor Austin has tried it on me a few times ... "Mom, will you play Lego with me today?" Oops ... too busy with tax returns and year-ends for my clients. Actually, "Why not???" Let's go have some fun. :)