The Magic of the Movies

Last Friday, I played hooky from work for a couple of hours to take D to see a movie.  I grew up at the movies.  My father took us almost every weekend.  We would wait hours in line to see Raiders of the Lost Ark on opening night.  And I still remember the drama when the Century movie theater in Santa Clara over sold almost 100 tickets for the opening night of Batman – when we counted, we saw that we were in the last 100 in line, so we casually went looking for “friends” ahead in line and ended up seeing the show.

There was always magic at the movies.  My dad made it so fun for us.  He’d start pumping up a movie weeks before it came out.  We went to many a summer blockbuster on opening night.  The crowd would be filled with anticipation – you could feel the energy.  Action movies were our favorites.  The more chase scenes, the more cars blowing up, the better.  We loved it.

I also remember when ticket prices were $5 a person.  When I was around 8, it became $6.  By the time I graduated high school, it was $7.25.  And when I graduated college, one standard adult ticket would be over $8.50 a person.  Not to mention the cost at the concession stand.  Going to the movies now can put a serious dent in your wallet.  There is no more weekly tradition of going to the movies. We simply cannot afford it.

When I took D to the movies this Friday, I knew that we were on a tight budget.  So I made stove-top popped popcorn at home, brought a juice box for him and a bottle of water for me, plus some grapes in case D wanted another snack.  I knew that I would be breaking a movie theater rule by bringing in my own stuff – but I didn’t care.  I wanted munchies – and I didn’t want to pay $15 for them. 

D loved going to the theater.  He held his ticket in his little hands and showed it to everyone that worked there.  I picked up a booster seat so that he could see better which ended up becoming our snack holder as D sat in my lap after the first 15 minutes.  It was still a magical moment for him.  He was captivated by the experience – turning to me at times to validate the movie.  “Is he sad, momma?”  “Is he mad, momma?”  “Her happy, momma.  Her smiling.” 

It was magical for me to get to experience one of my fondest childhood memories with D.  I know that it’s an experience that I can’t replicate every week.  But watching D re-tell his Daddy how “we went to the Mookies.”  It’s almost worth the $9.75 ticket.

Almost.

Originally posted at the Silicon Valley Mom's Blog.