Marley & Me 馬利和我

         John想有己小孩子但未有養育孩子的準備，John便向自己的好友——同時也是報社的同事塞巴斯蒂安傾訴此事。塞巴斯蒂安給John提出了一個完美的解決辦法，那就是John應該送Jenny一隻小狗，並表示養狗其實很簡單，不外乎散散步、喂喂東西、以及時不時把它放出去耍。

　　黃色拉布拉多犬Marley就此進入這個家庭。不知不覺中，John and Jenny飼養的Marley已經從一隻可愛的、12磅重小狗長大成了好動的、不安分的、精力充沛的、且重達100磅的大狗了，因此杰羅甘家遭受到了嚴重的破壞。它在學校也不服從管教，它的種種劣跡還包括咬破沙發、撞翻垃圾桶、偷吃感恩節的火雞、毀壞枕頭和花園的花、喝馬桶裡的水、追趕聯合包裹服務人員等等。甚至，連John送給Jenny的昂貴的新項鏈也被它狼吞虎咽地吞進了肚裡。

　　在Marley逐漸長大地過程中，它見証了John and Jenny度過的起伏跌的家庭生活、陪伴他們經歷了的工作和家園的變遷，最重要的是它作為家庭成員的一部分見証了這個逐漸成熟起來的家庭所歷經的全部挑戰和難關。慢慢地，John和Jenny意識到，Marley——這隻世界最調皮搗蛋的狗——已經成了他們情感中最重要的一部分。

其中一幕是 Jenny 與 John 剛爭吵完的對話:

JENNY: I got overwhelmed, John. I mean, be. One tells you how hard it's gonna

JOHN: Which part?

JENNY: All of it. Marriage. Being a parent. It's the hardest thing in the world and

no one prepares you for that. No one tells you how much you have to give

up.

me. I gave up so much of what makes me. But I'm not allowed to say that.

People think you're a bad person if you say that. But it's how I feel sometimes, and I

need you to know that.

JOHN: I'M SORRY--

JENNY: It's not your fault. It's just something I have to figure out. But Marley

going, that won't fix anything.

Jenny 說出了大部份父母的心聲,為人父母是天下問最難的事,因為沒有預習,沒有模擬訓練！    如有兩個孩子的媽媽可能更能體會，當一個方法可處理大仔問題但不一定可以處理細仔情況...Ｎo one prepares you for that。。。只在探索。。。在生活中體驗用包容和愛。。。這個愛真的要 unconditional 的１我也未能做到！ 

所以她說就算把Marley 破壞王送走也不能解決玩有問題...

這對夫妻經歷了生活種種事件，孩子們漸漸成長，兩個人對家庭的觀念和雙方的調適都適應後，Marley也慢慢衰老。

  世間上沒有完美的人, 養他 就要愛他。

電影的最後年紀愈大的Marley生病了（１３歲的狗狗），病痛讓Marley不再活潑，牠卻安靜的承受身體上的痛苦，直到支撐不下倒下，虛弱的身體無法承受開刀的過程，John做了最痛苦的選擇，他不願Marley再繼續痛苦下去，接受的獸醫的建議，讓Marley安樂死。

John一直陪著Marley走完最後的那段路，告訴Marley牠是多棒的一隻狗，他們如何的愛牠。

在Marley慢慢沉睡時，我已經開始哭了。

電影裡John說的最後一段話：

你不用買高級服飾、名車或豪宅，你只要給牠一根泡了水的棍子就夠了。

牠不會在乎你有沒有錢，聰明還是愚笨，你愛牠，牠就會愛你。

在這個世界上，有多少人能給你這樣的感覺？ 
有多少人能讓你覺得珍貴？

有多少人能讓你覺得特別？

又有幾個人，能讓你說出這樣的話呢？

 

雖然是舊影片，依然想要和大家分享。。

好的故事好的影片，讓人一看再看依然感動。

Lessons from Marley and Me

Movies are a great tool for education, whether using documentaries to teach facts or using a movie like Marley and Me for character education. The following lessons can be drawn from Marley and Me:

Pets are Part of the Family – for Better or Worse

It’s important for families, couples, and single people to really grasp that bringing a pet into the family should be permanent. People abandon pets for many reasons: expense, time, bad behavior, personality differences, moving, etc. Before becoming a pet-owner, be ready to commit and accept the animal as a permanent member of the family, for better or worse.

Unconditional Love for Pets

In Western cultures especially, having a pet means having someone who gives unconditional love. Even when pets are treated poorly, most are quick to forgive.Marley and Me shows how giving unconditional love to pets is a great way to add joy to anyone’s life. And yes, unconditional love means loving a pet who makes life difficult sometimes.

Balancing Marriage, Family, & Career

Many couples have had the thought, “Oh, it can’t be that difficult. They’re just not doing it right,” when hearing other couples complain about the challenges of balancing marriage, family, and career. Marley and Me really encourages people to pay attention to the very real and frustrating balancing act of supporting a family.

Everybody Dies

Not necessarily appropriate for all children, Marley and Me is a great movie to watch to really talk about death. It’s incredibly sad and may be too difficult to watch for some children (and adults), but for people who haven’t experienced much death, this movie will provide a very obvious opportunity to talk about it.

Finding Your Way in Life

It can be hard to figure out what your dream is, and it can be very discouraging to discover that life has a different path. Marley and Me is a great story about a man trying to find his way in life. How does one work through fears of settling? How do people learn to be content with the unexpected journeys in life? Marley and Meshows a man who struggles to find answers to those questions and serves as a great lesson for young graduates and adults in mid-life crisis.

Watch Marley and Me to Learn some Good Lessons

The best way to get the most out of a movie is to have a compelling discussion afterwards. Use the above topics and lessons to get a conversation started. Train yourself and others to take something valuable away from watching movies. Not just simple entertainment, movies provide opportunities to learn and grow.