Goodkin

Edward Prefers Cougars

The movie Eclipse (part three of the Twilight series) came out on June 30th—but I won’t get to see it until it comes out on DVD since I have little kids around. So when is that? January, perhaps? But I hear it’s a good one. So good that my sister took the day off work to see it, facebooked about its quality, and then sent me a link that had to do with the movie. I didn’t immediately check the link since I thought maybe it was a spoiler about the movie.

Not being one for fantasy/sci-fi stuff or sagas of any sort, I never planned to read the Twilight series, though I’d heard about it. I admit that I have never read (or watched) Harry Potter—and read only one of the Narnia Chronicles. I like “chick lit” mostly—things like Eat, Pray, Love. But I was home nursing baby Lucy for 3 months without really much to do other than nurse, watch a baby nap, nap myself, and nurse some more. The first few months of Lucy were quiet, dreamy, soft and lovely. And then my sister sent me the first Twilight book.

My sister has great taste in books. So the fact that she recommended and sent this one, told me I had to read it. I thought, okay, maybe it’s as good as the Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants (my first teen read since way back when I was a teen). So, with Lucy asleep in my arms I picked up Twilight. I didn’t put it down until I was done. And then I went on to read books 2 and 3 (my sister sent these too). They sucked me in.

I read while Lucy napped in my arms. I read in the car (and that usually makes me sick). I made excuses to stay in the car with a sleeping baby while Joel ran errands so I could read some more. I stayed up late and read, despite the erratic feeding schedule of a new born. Baby wakes up at 2 am? Cool. I can read some more while I nurse! I even started wondering if maybe Joel was a vampire—actually I started hoping he was a vampire!

But by far the best part of the books was learning about the author, Stephenie Meyer. She was a stay-at-home mom (of 3) who had a dream one night. She wrote up the story of her dream— mostly with her youngest child in her lap. She then sent her manuscript to 15 agents, got 10 rejections, but all that was needed was that 1 acceptance she got. Now she has a series of bestselling books and movies. Wow. What inspires me is that this is a story of a woman, without a lot of her own time, who was able to follow and realize her dreams. I know what it’s like being a stay-at-home mom. I know how hard it is to even find the time to eat when you’re a stay-at-home mom. But write a book, too? The brilliance of the Twilight series to me is the message it sends about following your inspiration and stepping out on a ledge, taking a risk, to realize your dreams, despite your circumstances. I guess that is what Bella does in the books as well.

So, I finally opened the link my sister sent. It was a link to a t-shirt website where they are selling Twilight t-shirts. The one she sent me said, “Edward prefers Cougars.” I had to think about that for a minute. Then I got it. Bella is older than Edward since she had her 18th birthday while he remained 17 as a vampire. Edward allowed it to happen—even encouraged it—saying he could remain 17 while Bella grew older and older and he would still love her. Bella is his preferred cougar. I love it. I love that Stephenie Meyer is passing along a message that love does not care about age. That true love does not need society’s approval in any way, shape, form, or age. I love Stephenie Meyer even more for this. Now I gotta go see Eclipse. 

[Photo: Cafe Press user TwilightHearts]