Tickets for Four, Please

I swore I would never take a baby to a movie theater. There’s always that mother with her little one in tow who inevitably melts down into film-ruining shrieks at the first sign of an action-packed increase in volume. Well, Dennis convinced me to be that mother – would our little Annabelle be that baby?

We’ve been asking ourselves for some time now when we think Frankie might be ready to see his first movie – a two-year-old’s attention span can be quite touch and go most days. Recently, the movie Underdog came out, and because of his zeal for “doggies,” we thought he might enjoy it. We wouldn’t know until we tried, so we gave it a shot.

We maneuvered into the movie theater with our beast of a double stroller, and I instantly saw every parent in the house roll their eyes. The pressure was on. I nestled Annabelle’s carrier into the seat (thank God for folding armrests), while Dennis taught Frankie how to avoid the peril of self-folding theater seats. As the lights dimmed, we held our breath, said a prayer and hoped for the best…

If I do say so myself, our children are awesome. Frankie sat attentively the entire time, mesmerized by the talking, flying superhero of a canine. He only got anxious once, when he realized the kids in front of him had popcorn and he didn’t. Annabelle tried to sleep, but couldn’t help wanting to be part of the action. She made one little screech, and I swooped her up to nurse her through the second half of the movie. She left the theater as happy as a clam, garnering us nary a glare. Dennis left with pride, I left in shock.

I can’t say that I’ll be racing back to the theater on my own for more children’s film adventures. We get much better results from our kids as a parenting team than when we try to manage them independently. But, we had a very enjoyable time, and I look forward to many family film outings in our future. Perhaps next time we’ll branch out and get Frankie that popcorn. If he can actually sit through a movie, maybe he can even eat popcorn without choking to death, too? Miracles never cease.