Nov 24, 2008

Coming Soon: The Busy Holiday Season

So, I will start by saying that this last Thursday was the midnight showing of Twilight. My circle of friends near and far had been anticipating this movie for what seemed like an eternity. Luckily, my grandmother agreed to stay over so that Mike and I could join our group of 20+ Twilight Saga fanatics at the opening showing. People started lining up at 1pm for the midnight group. There were three sold out rooms in our theater and another theater with similar numbers down the street. Our wonderful friend Mina got there at 4ish and alerted the movie people that she was holding our spot. We got there at about 7pm and were happy to be about 11th in line.

Some may think that waiting in line for 5+ hours is crazy or would be boring to say the least. It was anything but. It was great to hang with the group and with the hordes of people all with a common interest. There were kids and teenagers. There were husbands and wives. There were soccer moms with whole soccer teams. People wearing preprinted shirts. People with posters and news clippings, magazines and official guides. The LA Times showed up to sell newspaper inserts at 50 cents a piece. There were heated debates about the characters. Those that hated Jacob and those who preferred Edward but couldn't help but defend Jacob from attack. Debates about casting and whether the movie could live up to the electricity pulsing from the characters in the books. It was a wild and fun time.
The whole movie watching experience was amplified by the shear number of fans piled in the room. From the raise of the curtain to the end of the movie, loud roaring cheers and enthusiastic clapping ruled the theater. The crowd even went crazy with the cameo of Stephenie Meyer herself.

The movie itself was good. For an addict like me it was sensational. I would like to see it again and again....if I had someone to watch the boys and also unlimited amounts of time and money. I do plan on reading and rereading the books until it comes out on DVD. And then it will be time to wait in line for the second installment. I don't know if people who hadn't read the books would see it quite the same, but Michael liked it and wouldn't like me spreading this all over town....but has said that he plans to read the books over his Xmas vacation. He may just be fanning a flame there though because he knows how amorous I return when I have spent a couple of hours in Forks immersed in the intensity of Edward and Bella. But, hey, the movie opened to something like 70.5 million dollars this weekend. So, I can't be that crazy.......especially when certain people that I know have already seen it three times!!!
Busy days are ahead. The holiday season will be here and gone before we know it. So, I have to admit that I put up my Christmas tree yesterday and rapped presents. I know....it isn't even after Thanksgiving yet! And, I usually abhor decorating. I always refused to put up a tree and got away with it last Christmas because we went to my mom's for the holidays and so I wasn't depriving the boys technically. Well, this year Xmas is at my house. And, after going back and forth about it.....I got the dang thing. It is a fake one and a little crooked from being shoved in a tiny box....but it will do. It is one of those three piece things that have the lights on it already. That at least took the lazy portion away from my argument. We were shopping yesterday....not my favorite thing to do during the holidays with the crowds, but better now than a couple weeks from now. So, we got the tree and the boys picked out a Cars tree skirt and some Cars ornaments to add to the box of ornaments I had gotten as a gift once and never used before this. Once home I assembled my tree and the boys were in awe of it. They loved it....the lights, the Cars ornaments, even the shiny assortment of Santas, Penguins, Snowmen etc. that were added to leave no branch unadorned. Not touching the tree takes some reminding, but the boys sat for hours oohing and aaahing and pointing things out. I suppose that is why it had to be done.


The gingerbread man book is still a favorite. When my grandmother came over to babysit, she made gingerbread men for the boys with raisin eyes, cherry mouth and papaya buttons. The boys were overjoyed. Seb kept placing the gingerbread man on its picture likeness in the book. Then he would bite it and we would say,"Ouch!" and he would laugh. He also shared the gingerbread man with the cow, horse and little old lady in the book. Ben on the other hand tore off his arm and leg right away to eat and then made him run around the table before finally biting off his head. One gingerbread man apiece was worth at least an hour of fun. Then later that night my grandma asked Seb where the gingerbread man was......referring to the book before bed. Seb smiled, opened his mouth wide and pointed down his throat. Then he rubbed his belly and said,"Good."


As I have feared before, Ben is really attached to me. I have always known that Ben would be one of the kids on the first day of kinder that would be howling and I would be the mother crying right along with him. We have started attending a new church with a great childcare system. They have five rooms --each for a designated year age with two teachers per room and a supervisor that patrols all of the rooms. The kids play and have a little lesson and then have cookie time. If your child gets too upset, they have electronic screens that flash your kid's number so that you know to come and rescue them. Of course, when dropping them off, I already had tears in my eyes. Seb steps in the room with a big smile and runs off to start playing without a glance back. Benny on the other hand pulls at my heart strings. He goes in and finds a toy and before I can leave, comes to me to grab my hand and show me the rest of what he has found. I get my hand back after a couple of minutes and slowly make my way to the door. But the stupid security gates.....it takes a million years to figure out how to open it. By the time I am on the other side, Ben is watching with wide eyes and a quivering lip. I blow him a kiss, tell him goodbye and tell him to have fun. I will see him in a little bit. The roar of death and ocean of tears erupt. I can't bring myself to go into the church. I hide with my back against the wall in the hall, almost crying myself. Michael wants me to leave, he will be fine in a couple of minutes. But, I want to stay and listen. I want to hear him stop crying so that I know he is alright. Of course, Ben senses me there. He climbs up on the gate and cranes his neck around to see me hiding in the hallway. He has an extra loud burst of tears to try and draw me back in. I blow him a kiss and assure him I will be back soon. I have to leave now.


Our number is never called, so I am calmer. Of course upon picking up the boys, they are happily playing. Ben doesn't see me right away and runs around the room as busy as can be. He has a toy spoon in his smiling mouth making quick laps around tables and chairs and Michael and I look at each other and know that that is our typical little Ben. Then Benny sees me....stops in his tracks.....the spoon drops and he runs to the door. He reaches his arms up and says,"Carry, Carry." He is ready to go home. Seb on the other hand, smiles and waves and says hi to us. He then makes his rounds and says bye to everyone in the room. All the way to the car, he walks hand in hand with his Daddy waving at every passer by. When in the car we ask the boys, "Did you have fun?" Seb answers with an elated,"Yeah, yeah!" Ben gives a nonchalant nod.
Not only is leaving the boys hard on me because I am one of those overprotective, hovering, following their every move moms, but because I have this guilt when I leave them. I wonder if it is just Ben's sensitive personality that has him upset or is it a real fear that I won't come back. That I am abandoning him. I think this is what makes it harder for me to be unemotional about it. It is hard for me to go.

One last thing. I have been teaching the boys how to say,"I love you." Seb is pretty good at it and now if I say- I -with a pause, the- love you- come out right after. With Ben, he is not the talker with this emotional stuff, so he has his own rock star moves. With Seb and I saying I love, Ben does an over exaggerated point for the you and adds the biggest sweetest smile so that you know what he means. Of course, if the subject is daddy, it is always, "I love Dada!" instead of the You. I don't know why. It is just how they do it. I love those little dudes.
We have so much planned over the next couple of weeks with trips and visits and parties that I don't know when I will get a chance to blog again. If I don't.....Happy Holidays to you all out there. If I do....well, then I guess I will just have to say it again.








1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Happy Thanksgiving... and Sweet Dreams!