We had a lot of hoopla this weekend with get-togethers, but I wanted to get to another delayed milestone first.

Last Friday, or I guess the Friday before that now that it's already Sunday again, you went to your first movie. I was a bit nervous about the whole affair because I didn't know how well you'd sit still. Or even if you would.

The moment I put the thought in your head that week, you couldn't stop asking about it. (Lesson to me: don't tell a two-year-old about something ahead of time!) You've been jabbeing on and on about Cars since you saw the displays in the grocery store a few months ago. You're car crazy as it is, but once the animated characters made their appearance on everything in the universe (soap, toothpaste, lunch boxes, sleeping bags etc.), you've been happily exclaiming, "Cahs!" every time you see one. But you had no idea there was a movie involved. Until Mommy told you. And once I did, you were beside yourself. "Cah Movie! Cah Movie!"

When Friday finally rolled around, I was as excited as you. I couldn't wait to see your reaction. We spent the morning keeping busy around the house, but I wanted to make sure we got to the theater a little bit early so we could get some snacks. The moment you knew we were heading out, you started running around crazily and yelling, "CAH MOVIE!" to Daddy. You were even a bit put out that I was moving faster than I was.

I tried to explain to you in the car on the way there that we would be going to the mall first to get a pretzel. "No, pretzel, Mommy. Cah movie!" Well, I could see how things were going to turn out from there. We got to the mall 30 minutes before the movie and I tried valiantly to distract you. You actually put up with it for a few minutes at the Apple store, where you played with the computers. But you raced back out into the mall after a few minutes and resisted Mommy's attempts to get you to cooperate on the snacks. "Cah movie, Mommy." It had become almost a desperate chant at that point. Nothing but that phrase would come out of your mouth.

I managed to wrangle you into a smoothie and a pretzel, but you took only a couple of bites of the pretzel before getting up saying, "All done!" Then we headed toward the theater. We were ten minutes early. We bought tickets and used the restroom and I took you all the way down to theater 11. I pulled open the big door and told you this is where we would see the movie. You looked inside and saw how dark it wasy and stepped back, a bit frightened. But I helped you inside and we walked down the aisle to the seats.

For the next ten minutes, you kept looking around the empty theater (matinee showing of a movie that had been out for a few weeks). "Cah movie, Mommy!" You said this every ten or 20 seconds, even when I explained it would be a few minutes. Eventually a father and son walked in and another guy. So there were five of us. And, at 10:45, the theater darkened and the previews came up.

TONS OF THEM. (Why do kids need previews at a movie, I have to ask.) Eight or nine, I'd guess. And after each one, when the screen went blank for a couple of seconds, you said, "Cah movie!"

Finally it started and you were transfixed. You didn't want to sit in your own chair, so you settled on my lap and watched the big screen. You got fidgety once or twice, when the dialogue overtook the action, but you sat still for two hours (including the previews and short). I had my arms around you the entire time, with my chin in your hair. Every once in a while I'd kiss your head or your ear. A couple of times you cutely looked back and me and touched my nose and whispered, "Hi, Mommy." I know it sounds silly, but I got tears in my eyes when you did that. I was having so much fun sitting there with you, watching you watch the movie.

With about ten minutes to go, I glanced at your face and saw that you'd fallen asleep. You woke up as I was trying to reposition you and I asked if you were tired. "Yeah." "Do you want to go home?" "Yeah." "Do you want to go see Daddy?" "Yeah." And I scooped you up and headed out.

Posted on July 23, 2006 09:57 PM