And the Oscar Goes to
Our movie night began slowly, with Julia and I wondering if and when anyone was coming...this is currently the stage of life I (and my friends) am in...just fortuneate to get there at all, so I wasn't terribly concerned. Hungry, but not concerned. Our scheduled 5:30 start crept to 7:30, but I must confess that it was refreshing to just sit and decompress for a while after having been on the move cleaning and rearranging and prepping the most part of the day.
On a side note away from any movie night notes, yesterday, even in the midst of preparing for guests was such a wonderful day. Julia picked Benjamin up from Preschool and the two of them stayed in Lincoln until school was dismissed at 1:30. Joseph and Amelia and I had a good amount of time together. They "helped" me clean a little, helped weed the flower beds, played in the sand box and then we even colored a little and just sat to read. It was a little glimpse of next year when it will be just the two of them home on the days that Benjamin is at school.
There is always more to do when you're preparing for guests. It's funny how those are the times that you notice just how tall the grass is, that the flower pots on the porch are still empty and the screen is still missing a slat of wood and that there is a chunk of paint missing from the wall or that the yard light is still burned out, the sidewalk needs to be swept...the list could really go on and on, but noone else really cares...especially this group of guests...they're not coming for the cosmetics, they're coming for the company!
The original plan...in fact, the origin of the idea of this night, was to watch the classic "Pretty Woman". We determined that the movie is at least 20 years old, and in my book is just a must-see. In the morning though, Tim pointed out that the movie, while a classic, doesn't have the best message. "She's a prostitute", he said, sort of pleading for my reconsideration of showing this movie in the company of younger women and our Catholic friends. Initially I was irritated, because it is only a movie. And then I thought of what we tell our children as we're teaching them about making good choices. It made me question the appropriateness of this movie too. Ultimately I decided it would be ok, because in all reality, there are worse things on prime-time TV and we're all adults. In the end, I would ask everyone their opinion and honor them. I ended up not being able to locate a copy anyway, so it was not an issue. We instead started the movie "Valentine's Day". It was a recent release and overall, a cute movie. Apparently I had forgotten just how much inappropriate content was in the movie. (It's amazing how until we think about it or disect something, we don't even notice the trash anymore!) We watched the entire movie, and by the end, I found myself uncomfortable...mostly because we were watching a movie that none of us would approve for our families to watch. And while it was entertaining, I admit that Tim was right...again! :) It will definitely be a consideration in the event that another movie night happens...and the plan is that there will be another one, because overall, it was so much fun!
Our second selection was "A Walk to Remember". It definitely brought redemption to the evening. It was midnight by the time the movie was fininshed and 12:30 when guests left. I love entertaining. I really enjoy being the host. It is so much fun. I enjoy the driveway being full of cars and the mess that is left when it's over. It means that fun was had with friends here.
