A Date with My Son

Owen and I got to spend some alone time last night while Michelle had her Mary Kay Open House. I decided to take Owen to watch STAR WARS: The Clone Wars. I thought it was appropriate since my 3 year old son
has been obsessing with swords. Our house has become a venue for frequent sword fighting and dragon slaying. Although I have no objections, my son has the tendency to get carried away and start to attack in a manner that
can hurt whoever he is playing with. My poor wife has to defend herself from Owen for most of the day, but as soon as I get home, I sometimes hope that she thinks of me as her Knight and Shining Armor who has come to rescue her from her sword-fighting obsessed toddler. Hey...a man can dream!

But as we left the house last night, I was filled with glee and excitement to watch a movie with my son. We have never done this before. We have always gone together as a family, but never have I braved the idea of taking my son to the movie theater myself, but last night, I did it! And it was worth it! Not to say that we didn't have some troubles.

For those of you know who don't know where we live, we are practically in the middle of nowhere. Well, at least I think so. It's not like we have no neighbors....it's just that the nearest Mcdonalds, Walmart and Starbucks are more than 5 miles away, hence the remark that we are out of touch with the rest of the world. But the reason why I am saying this is because on our way to the movie theatre, Owen and I were just talking. Then as got close to the street where I needed to make a left turn to get to the theater, there was a sign that said "ROAD CLOSED". The street I needed to turn to was only about 200 feet away or less! But they closed it for repairs! At this point, I was in panic mode. The movie was going to start in a few minutes, and I had no idea how to re-route myself! After all, I was in the middle of nowhere! I only knew one way to get there...and that was was closed! I told Owen that the road was closed....and as I turned around, he said: "I will help you find it! It's otay!" I was like...."OKAY....thanks", but with a hint of desperation as I try to re-route my brain to find an alternative route.

I found a street that looked like it was going to the direction I wanted to go to, so I turned right with that hope that we would get to the movie on time. But as I looked at the time, the movie had already started! But thank goodness for previews! I can still do it! I hinted to my son that we may be too late and maybe we could watch a different movie, but he quickly exclaimed: "But I want to see Star Wars! I want to see sword fighting!" I thought to myself: "OKAY VINCI....YOU CAN'T DISAPPOINT YOUR SON!" Talk about pressure! There was no way I was going to let him down! So, ONWARD we go! I drove as the roads curved and turned into conspicuous angles. I had no idea if I was going North, South, East or West! I was just hoping I was going the right direction! My mind was blank as the place seemed so foreign to me. It was nothing but cornfields! And at this time in the season, the corn stalks are so tall I can't see anything for miles! As I looked at the time again, I was starting to lose hope. I saw a stop sign and ALAS! Civilization! I saw houses, and then a few more cars! WE ARE NOT ALONE! I peeked at my son and I saw him looking at me, and I knew that I had to try my best to find my way! And of course, asking to stop for directions is out of the question! That was always the wife's job!

But as I passed the stop sign, I saw a billboard with several arrows pointing to different locations. I was confused and doubted myself...and I decided to turn around. As I did this, Owen started saying: "I don't want to go home yet. This is the wrong way!" The funny thing is, I actually listened to the little guy. I don't know how we would have known where we were, but I just thought that maybe he knew. Who was I to doubt him? So, I got back in the previous direction, and as I passed the sign again, I saw the arrow pointing to the street I needed to be and we were headed the right way! I was right, and Owen was right too! I was glad! We kept going and there it was....BEHOLD THE MOVIE THEATER!

We quickly got out of the car and ran inside! We got our tickets and enjoyed the movie! We were set! I had 2 bottles of water, and chicken nuggets that Michelle sent with us. And we were the only ones inside! I looked at my son many times during the movie and he was enjoying it. SUCH INNOCENCE. SUCH PURE JOY.

It's amazing how a simple thing such as going to a movie can actually become a memorable experience for me and my son. I can't wait for our next date!