Cheerful Giving

The Blind Side was a big hit seven months before I finally rented the movie.
I was sorry I hadn't paid more attention to the TV interviews with the family at the time of its initial release. Well, I needn't have worried, because People Mag did a nice interview with them recently and more interestingly, Leigh Anne and Sean Tuohy wrote a book with Sally Jenkins, entitled In a Heartbeat, about their family's journey taking Michael Oher into their hearts and home, eventually adopting him.

If you thought you knew enough about them, I'm telling you the book is really inspiring, telling about their individual backgrounds, how their own parents' giving influenced their lives at an early age. I couldn't put the book down, which is rare for one with my short attention span.

Michael must have cringed when he saw the scene where Leigh Ann comes onto the field to tell him how to play and S.J. drills plays with him. According to Leigh Ann, he already knew how to play when he got to their family.

Sandra Bullock and Tim McGraw, who portray Leigh Ann and Sean, and all three of the Tuohy children (Collins, Michael and S.J.) get their say in the book as well.

Anytime a book can make me smile, laugh and cry, I say it's worth recommending. Of course, the main purpose in writing the book is to encourage those of us who saw the movie and now have read the book to go out and buy into the Popcorn Theory. You will have to read the book to find out what that means. Actually, it's on the first page of the book.

You don't have to do a lot to make a difference in someone's life; every day there are opportunities if only we pay attention to them. I found this to be an excellent lesson in cheerful giving.