This weekend, we moved one step closer to clawing-back our adulthood. We took the three children to the cinema. There are moments in a child’s upbringing where you have cause to celebrate, such as when they grow out of nappies, when everyone can last at the table for Sunday lunch without getting down, or when every child can climb into the car on their own in under a minute. Such break-throughs prompt a collective sigh of relief.
We were fully prepared for one of us to make a quick exit from the cinema with the wriggling Toddler who has not yet fully grasped the art of whispering. At the very least, we were anticipating having to crawl out periodically throughout the film at the beck and call of every small bladder alert.
The Toddler was a little overwhelmed when we arrived at the Multiplex, convinced we were in the departure lounge of Heathrow. However, once he saw his brother and sister make a mad dash towards the popcorn counter and the vast array of sweets, he was ecstatic. He sprinted towards the chocolate covered raisins as if his life depended on it. In true Toddler style, his little legs did not quite do what they were supposed to under extreme levels of excitement. He slipped and did an impressive dive along the carpet, smashing his head on the lid of the Lemon Bonbons. Then came the familiar piercing scream as the egg shaped bruise rose on his small forehead. Meanwhile, our daughter busily scooped up and filled a bag with the most ludicrously expensive sugary items she could find whilst our son politely ordered some popcorn from a helpful man behind the counter. While I tended to The Toddler my husband battled over the sugar intake and cries of, “But Granny lets us have Slush Puppies.”
We head into the darkness of the cinema and park ourselves in a row of seats close to the exit. The children perch on small booster seats for optimum viewing and The Toddler nervously clutches his familiar muslin square. Amazingly, they stay sitting there for the next hour and a half, only moving to pick out another piece of popcorn or a strawberry bootlace. The Toddler is totally transfixed by the whole experience and even Dotty, the unborn baby, kicks with delight. As the credits roll, my husband and I can barely believe it. It has been a while, but we have made it through a feature length film at the cinema. It may be short lived but whether it’s Madagascar 2 or James Bond, we delighted in a glimpse of pre-parenthood.
