Movie Night

We all know that quality time with the kids in our lives is so important. Being the border-line control freak that I am, I usually like to plan things to do and sometimes it works out great. Other times, it's just not as much fun as I had pictured in my mind. This week I learned that spontaneity can be the most fun of all and letting someone else run the show is not such a bad thing either.
It all started when my ten year old had a terrible craving for fettuccine. I did not feel like making a trip to the Olive Garden and had nothing on hand to make it from scratch. My husband was at work with the Debit card, I had no cash, and restaurants just don't take checks anymore y'all. I told him he was out of luck. "No Mom, I have my own money! They have a to-go menu! I just can't drive over there to pick it up!" Getting nowhere with me, he calls my mother in law, who just happened to have purchased "Toy Story 3" on this very day. He gives her his money and gets busy!
He has to rehook the DVD player because Sissy's went out and it's in her room. Standing on a stool, he gets down the t.v. trays and sets them with cloth napkins, silverware, and drinks. Anxiously he waits at the window for supper to arrive, and then brings everything upstairs to start "movie night." Let me tell you, we had one great meal!
Sitting on my bed, propped up by nine pillows, enjoying one another's company, our Italian meal (which are lunch prices everyday till 4:00 p.m. by the way), and a wonderful movie. Quality time, it was! The message of the movie was not lost on me either since I've already had one "Andy" grow up at my house. I wondered to myself, "How many more nights like this will there be?" Setting that gut-wrenching thought aside for the time, I kissed my son's cheek, gave him a big squeeze, and thanked him for my very special movie night. Then I caught a glimpse of his old stuffed bear out of the corner of my eye and smiled.