Dinner and a Movie

On Mother's Day weekend, I probably shouldn't confess to poor mothering decisions from my past. But I have a reason.

My crime is this: I have let my son go to PG-13 movies since he was 10. But let me defend myself and say they could only be "superhero" movies. So over the past 4 or so years, we've seen Iron Man 1 & 2, Fantastic 4 1 & 2, Thor, Captain America, you name it. We've seen it together and it's been our tradition.

Moviemakers aren't stupid. All along they have been leading up to this summer's ultimate team superhero movie, The Avengers. Of course, Carter and I have been waiting since the last teaser at the end of Captain America last summer to see it. But our schedule would not allow us to get there last weekend when it opened.

So tonight, since Carter had the night off from baseball and hubby (who has no interest in this) was off coaching the other kids, I told Carter we'd go. Here's something I quickly learned. While he was excited to finally see the movie, the prospect of going with just his mother was way off the cool chart. After exhausting his top "contacts" and not finding anyone available to join us, he was stuck with me. And only me. C'mon, Carter, it's Mother's Day weekend. Humor me.

So we went.

We left home early enough but there still was a line at the theater. After getting our popcorn and drinks, we headed into the theater. We realized right away that they were playing the 3-D version in the bigger theater and shoving the rest of us 2-D people into a small theater. There were no 2 seats together except the front row. We sat there for maybe 30 seconds and I said, "There's no way I can do this."

So we ended up sitting separately but sort of together. He had a single seat in the back row and I was one row in front of him and one seat over to the right. So diagonally we could still pass the popcorn back and forth occasionally -- and more importantly, there was no risk he would be embarrassed by having to sit with his mom!

To top if off, the movie was awesome! We both give it two thumbs up! So everybody wins!

Except this poor mother who realizes she may have just had her last popcorn dinner and a movie with her baby. Sigh...

...Of the Day

Challenge of the Day: By 9 a.m. I was neck-deep in Monday and treading water. I suspect this is going to be a hell-acious week trying to get 2 weeks' worth of work done so I can be on vacation next week! Come Friday, it will be worth it.

Talk of the Day: It seems Carter and I weren't the only ones to see Captain America this weekend. Most people I talked to today agree it is probably the best super-hero movie made to date. I still might like Iron Man 1 a little better, but Captain America was a great flick. In fact, I think both Carter and I cried. But he's man enough now not to admit it. If you like this kind of movie, go see it!

Good News of the Day: The NFL lockout is over! I don't say that it's good news because we're excited about cheering for the bottom-feeder Vikings and getting our hopeful hearts ripped out and stomped on again. I say that because we can experience it in high-def this season! Yay, new TV! Yay, football!

Accomplishment of the Day: I'm not sure if I'll be capable of getting out of bed tomorrow morning, but for now I am sitting here reveling in the fact I just ran 10 miles! Yes, 10 -- I counted them on my toes! I've never gone that far and don't really want to do it too many more times, either. But, just 3 more miles and I've got me a half-marathon under my belt!

Quote of the Day: I fully admit I have a black thumb. It always becomes more evident when I visit my mother -- the one with green blood in her veins -- and see her mini-greenhouse in the dining room. That gene has skipped a generation. I guess Carter has noticed, too. He was shooting hoops by a little landscaped area in front of the house that has been neglected this summer while we've been away at work and baseball, etc. He says, "Mom, look at how those weeds grow and you don't do anything to them. Maybe you should water them so they die."

Ahhh. I gotta love my life!