Mum's Monday: When Looking for Love, Why Narrow Your Options?

One example of this is the film, Sleepless in Seattle, starring Tom Hanks as Sam and Meg Ryan as Annie.

Eighteen months after Sam lost his wife and Jonah lost his mum to cancer in Chicago, father and son are now living in Seattle having moved there for a fresh start.

Its Christmas Eve and a radio station, Network America, is putting out requests for people to phone in with their Christmas wish. Jonah calls in and wishes for a new mum and wife for his Dad.

Annie from Baltimore is listening in and feels a connection with Sam and Jonah. She writes a letter which is sent and is read by Jonah who also feels a connection and tries to get his father to read it, but when he finds out that Annie is from Baltimore and that city is the opposite side of the country to Seattle, he dismisses it saying he is only going to look closer to home.

In her letter, Annie has suggested meeting at the top of the Empire State Building in New York on Valentine’s day, but as Sam has no interest, Jonah, with the help from his friend, Jessica, flies to New York and waits for Annie at the top of the building.

Sam finding out where his Son Jonah has gone, quickly jumps on a flight to go and get him. He finds his son sitting at the top of the Empire State Building waiting for Annie. Annie arrives late but with a plea of romance is allowed to go to the top. After leaving his rucksack at the top Jonah and Sam return to find Annie holding it. They both feel the magic and connection between them and go off down the elevator.

If Sam hadn’t taken his sons lead he may never have met Annie and may not have had the romance/ magical connection again that he’d had with his wife. You’re asking the question; why couldn’t he move to Baltimore as he had already moved from one city to another.

This film makes you question why? Why is Sam not willing to move again? Why is he not listening to his son Jonah? And why doesn’t he want to get his son away from Jonah’s friend Jessica who could be deemed as a bad influence as she is the one who hacks into her parent’s travel business and sends Jonah on a flight to New York. Yes, I think the result was a happy one but it was still, I think, dangerous.

When looking for love it could be found anywhere, as apparent in this film, but if you narrow your options, who knows what you may be missing out on. Keeping an open mind and not letting geography or anything else get in the way you may find the love of your life in an unexpected place.

What I found nice about this film was when Annie stopped for coffee and the waitresses were discussing the man on the radio as basically a smelly bad person not realising they were in the company of the very person who would meet him. Sam and Annie, in the phrase of Jessica were “M.F.E.O.” (made for each other.) I love that part it is one of my favourite scenes of the film.

If as the film suggests that it is hard to find love after the age of 40 then why narrow your options even further?