Today marked a huge Milestone for us!! We successfully made it through a full movie at the actual theaters for the FIRST time with our kids!!
Insert happy dance here!!!
Now this may not seem like a big deal, but for our family it was humongous deal for a few different reasons!
First, as I have mentioned before, we live on a tight budget, so going to the movies is a huge luxury for us! But we were able to cut costs by going to a matinee, its literally almost half the price!! And to be completely honest, we brought our own snacks! I know some people think this is a big NO NO, but I’ll be honest, I don’t care. For 3 reasons:
A) The prices of the food at the theaters is high way robbery. Why would I spend $4 on a box of candy, when I can buy the same exact box at Wegmans for $1?! I know, I know… I am cheap. I am okay with that 🙂
B)Â The snacks I bring for my kids are much healthier for them. Now don’t get me wrong, I have no problem letting my kids splurge once in a while on junk food.. but when I know they are going to be sitting there for 2 hours mindlessly snacking, I would prefer them to be eating things that are more nutritious.
C)Â Two out of three of my children have food allergies, so they simply cannot eat most of the food/candy offered at the theater. I don’t think its fair to make them watch everyone else snacking away while they sit there with nothing. I was a little worried they would feel like they were some how “Missing out” on part of the whole movie theater experience by not going to the brightly lit concession stand that basically screams “COME OVER HERE!!” But I realized this was my own insecurity. I think sometimes allergy moms worry about the things their kids are missing out on, more than the kids do!! My kids walked right by, without a second glance. They knew they had their snacks stored away in our bag, and that was good enough for them! Success!!
Second, the movie was actually a good one!! We saw Paddington, and it was super cute. There were a few parts where the boys seemed a tiny bit bored with it, but it was only a matter of minutes for an entire movie, which I would consider good. The ending (spoiler alert!) really emphasized how different people (and species for that matter) could be a family, no matter how different they may be, which I loved. My kids are SO different and I loved that the movie reconfirmed what we have told them many times, no matter how different you may be, you’re still family and nothing will change that, and that everyone is loved equally.
Which leads me to the main reason this outing was such a success. One of our kids has sensory struggles, and is embarrassed by them. His brother and sister do not seem to have these struggles, and that is frustrating for him because he always wants to be a “Little Man”, and hates when things hold him back. But sometimes his sensory struggles do. For him certain senses are heightened, like for instance some sounds that may be tolerable to us, are unbearably loud to him. So the thought of a dark, surround sound movie theater was not exactly the most inviting place for him. But this week he decided he was ready to try it out!  Now as a mom, you know how exciting these moments are, when your child decides on their OWN that they are ready to conquer their fears!
Seeing him sit there, brave as brave can be is an imagine that will forever stay with me. When the lights went out, and the loud sound came on his little hand did reach for mine, I squeezed it tight letting him know that he’s “got this” and before I knew it he had let go and was laughing away with the movie. There are no words to describe that look of freedom he had on his face. He confronted his fears head on, and over came them! When the movie ended he said “I love this day! It was so fun!!” I could see the sense of accomplishment he felt, and the excitement of adding the movie theaters to the list of places he loves to go. When a child over comes something that has hindered them for so long, it’s so liberating.. not just for the child but for the parent.
My heart is full.
XO Nicole
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