Tag: family

A GAME OF THRONES Newbie

Published on by Kelly DeenyLeave a comment

Winter came late for me as it was only last year when I journeyed into the TV series so many adored. After binge-watching the first six seasons of Game of Thrones with my mother I watched each Season 7 episode with excitement and anticipation.

I’d say I’m sorry it took me so long, but the circumstances which led to last year’s binge-viewing made us appreciate the drama series all the more. House Deeny lost its eldest daughter in June of 2016 and sadness filled the space we called home. My parents mourned for their first born, and the “Little Women” – esque sisters grieved for their fierce, independent, outspoken big sister.

 

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Picture of my sister was taken at a Scottish cemetery

 

A few weeks after my sister’s passing, my mother began her research into an Irish family vacation the following summer. When I mentioned that the Deeny ancestors came from Northern Ireland (Rathmullan in County  Donegal and Dungiven in County Derry to be specific), she focused on that area for her tourism research. It was then that GoT entered our world.

“There’s a Game of Thrones tour,” she told me. “Have you watched that show?”

“I haven’t, but so many people tell me I’d love it.”

We were hooked after the first episode and made it a weekly (or bi-weekly) viewing date. I don’t know that I could’ve watched a show that’s graphic in many ways with my mother under normal circumstances. However, we had to move forward into a new normal. Watching “our show” each week became a bonding opportunity for us. For an hour we could immerse ourselves into the drama and intrigue of a fictional world and the characters who inhabited it.

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We cheered for our favorites (Arya, Jon, Sam, and Tyrion) and I often wondered if my mom grieved when Catelyn Stark did. Like the fictional matriarch of House Stark, my mother is a passionate defender of her daughters – compassionate, wise, outspoken, and full of love. Just as Sansa and Arya embody the qualities of their mother in different ways, so too do the Deeny sisters.

This brilliant piece of fictional television deserves all the award recognition it’s received over the years, and I look forward to seeing the talent (on-screen and off) be recognized again for their stunning work in season 7. Game of Thrones is one such show that blends all artistic pieces into one seamless work of art. From the score; to the complex and twist-turning writing; and the raw, flawless acting GoT‘s praise warrants even more.

While I watched the newest season with dear friends (as my mother preferred the “wait for the DVD” method), we’ve decided that buying S7 in December will be a joint Christmas gift to one another. I’ll have plenty of time to get her caught up before the next and final (noooooo) season, and maybe we’ll still have time to get in that GoT tour in Ireland before S8 E1 airs.

UPDATE: 01/03/18 – I bought the Season 7 DVD the day it was released and my mother is now all caught up. She waits, as the rest of us do, for what Season 8 will reveal!
**DISCLAIMER: No endorsement by any organization mentioned above or their affiliates, actors, or producers is implied.**

 

 

Saved by Entertainment

Published on by Kelly DeenyLeave a comment

My father and I have a routine every Saturday evening – after dinner, the two of us watch a movie.  We have very different interests but there are some films we can agree on, and they’ve become are our go-to movies.  I enjoy this habitual activity, not only because I love movies but because I love spending time with my dad.  On July 26th, 2013 this routine ended up saving my life.

Well, sort of!  That Friday evening, the apartment building I lived in caught fire.  Friday night is pizza night in our family.  From work I went straight to my sister’s house for dinner and before my dad left to return home he said, “If you feel up to it, stop over and we’ll watch a movie.”  It was a Friday, not a Saturday – out of our routine, but my mom was out-of-town so the two of us had to stick together.  So, when I left my sister’s around 8:30pm I headed directly for my parents’ house.  I felt like watching one of those “classics”, a film that we’ve seen time and again and is always entertaining.  Shortly into the film, we heard a plethora of sirens and said to one another, “That sounds bad.”  Little did we know just how right we were.

Halfway through the movie, my sister called the house line, frantic to reach me.  “Ohmigod!  You nearly gave me a heart attack.  You didn’t answer your cell,” she cried.  “Dad didn’t answer his cell.”  Then she proceeded to inform me that my apartment complex was on fire.  We paused the film and spent the next hour searching the local news websites for details and trying to verify which particular building(s) were up in flames.  By the time it was confirmed to be the building I lived in, my nerves were shot and my head spinning.

There was nothing I could do that night.  I was safe.  I had a place to stay.  I had food, shelter and company.  I thought about my laptop, about the novel I’ve been working on for the past 3 years.  I gasped when I recalled that my grandmother’s stereo/record player was at my place.  My mind raced thinking about all the CDs, DVDs and musical theatre programs I’d collected over the years.  I am an entertainment girl through and through.  It’s key to my identity.  To know that so much was likely destroyed…I couldn’t fathom it.

“Come on,” my dad instructed.  “Let’s finish the movie.  It’ll distract you.”  And that it did.  I got wrapped up in the action of the film, one that I’ve seen and enjoyed many times already.  By the time the movie ended, I was exhausted.  Dad gave me a great, big hug and made me smile.  I cried myself to sleep that night, overwhelmed with what was lost.  With each realization of another piece of memorabilia gone, I felt embarrassed and ungrateful – they were just things and could be replaced.  I was alive and well.  I had a roof over my head, food to eat and a safe place to stay.

I woke up ready to face the day.  I needed to know what the reality of the situation was and handle what I could control.  I’ve always been inspired by characters who, when faced with adversity, look inside and find strength.  This was my life, my story to write.  And if I needed to start from a blank slate…so be it.  My dad told me that day, “Keep moving.  Keep busy.  If you stop to think, it will eat you up inside.”  He went with me to see the damage, kept me company and was the one to call my other relatives so that I didn’t have to.  While my father didn’t physically save my life, he did provide comfort, companionship, and enough space to pick myself up and dust myself off.  And for that I’m eternally grateful!

P.S.  Now that I have to rebuild my collection of theatre programs, I’ve decided that dad will be the first one I take with me back to Broadway!!!!