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| Photo: Philipp K. |
Things have changed in movie theaters since she’s been to one. She said it had probably been 15 years. It had been much longer since we went to a movie together.
“When is the last time we saw a movie together?” I said after we were both settled in. We thought about it. “Was it Rocky? That was 1976.”
“We saw Return of the Jedi,” Mom said. “I took you and some of your buddies.”
“I think you are right – 1981 maybe?” Turned out to be 1983.
Somehow, 28 years had passed. She’s never been a big moviegoer, and time just moves so quickly. Then she had a stroke in 2007. After that, she was afraid to walk in large groups of people because she wasn’t steady on her feet. But during her recovery, I kept telling her we needed to go see a movie when she felt better and she kept saying we would.
Mom is a country music fan. When I mentioned going to see Country Strong with her a couple of weeks ago, she said it would be fun. She was right.
She put her popcorn down and I held the seat down for her. After she got situated, I pulled down her arm rest and told her it had a pop holder in it. She learned that the seats rock too.
Finally, the movie started.
I watched Mom watching the movie and if felt good to see her enjoy herself. She didn’t look away from the screen. Maybe it was because the movie is about a country singer who was trying to come back and it reminded her of her own comeback. Or maybe it was because she’d forgotten how much fun the movie experience can be and she wanted to take it all in.
Afterward, as we walked to the car, we talked about the plot of the movie. We traded thoughts and opinions – both agreeing that it was a good movie. Then she mentioned The Fighter, as if to say, “Let’s do this again soon.”
And we did. I asked her if she wanted to see The Fighter, but she said she wanted to see True Grit. She’d seen the original ions ago. So True Grit it was. Afterward she said she wasn’t afraid to go to the movies anymore. And I smiled, because at the age of 74, my mom made a comeback.
