Grandma’s Day Out at the Movies

If I had a magic wand, I would use it to connect with our grandkids whenever I had a spare minute. I think about them each day and am always curious about what class they’re in, what book they’re reading, which friend’s company they’re enjoying, etc. The questions go on and on. I’m not obsessed with these thoughts and rarely follow-up actually asking the questions, but I do admit to having a curious nature about our grandkids.

The Early Bird Special

On a recent Saturday morning, John was golfing, and I was not. The grandkids were busy, and I was not. I was bored and went through the different options I had. After some consideration, I decided to walk to the neighborhood theater and take in a movie. I went to the 9:40 showing of The Boss Baby. (That’s 9:40 a.m.)

I thought I’d be the only person attending the early movie, which, by the way, would not have been a first for me. I’ve been the sole person in the theater several times. It does feel a little weird, but I survived and enjoyed my time. I also think the early movies give a whole new meaning of “early bird special” for senior citizens.

I was shocked when I was buying my ticket and picking out my DreamLounger seat. There were only three seats left in the whole theater. It was even more shocking when I entered the theater to set my eyes on the mass of kids and their parents and grandparents. I’m a big girl, and I knew I could handle the challenge.

Before the movie started, I reacquainted myself with the DreamLounger buttons. I quickly realized I wasn’t the only person experimenting with the DreamLounger chair. All around me, the chairs were going back and forth, up and down to the squeals of children. My chair was going back and forth, up and down, but I made sure I only made silent squeals of delight. I found the perfect adjustments, and I was ready for the movie to start.

But the movie didn’t start, and the babies started to cry. I believed it was very appropriate since we were at The Boss Baby. It felt “right”, and I smiled hearing the crying babies. I wondered if the DreamWorks Animation team planned to pipe in the crying sounds to get the theatergoers geared up for the featured film.

Movie Memories with the Grandkids

The movie was great, and I really did enjoy myself. I realized I had a good time for two reasons. One, there was enough juvenile humor to keep me giggling. Two, it brought back wonderful memories of taking the grandkids to the movies. They hated scary movies, but the comedies were always a hit. We would buy kiddie combos, and someone always snuck in extra candy just in case. We would also laugh about the crying babies. Unfortunately, our movie dates were before the DreamLoungers era. Dang, we would have had a good time moving those chairs to the music!

What started out as a boring day ended up being very delightful. Much to my surprise, I found I could connect my new experiences with many grandkid memories I hadn’t thought of for some time. Those memories are priceless. Grandkids grow up. That’s a fact of life. But I decided that I can stay connected anyway, even if it’s just a mental connection.