I miss the movie theater

As I navigated through the movie theater parking lot on a recent night, a group of middle school-age kids darted in front of my SUV. Two girls were chasing two boys and when they got to the theater door the boys began playfully blocking the door. When an older couple needed to enter, they stepped aside. When the girls tried to sneak in behind the couple, the boys quickly blocked them.

I was not dropping my children off at the Wallingford movie theater, just cutting through to Route 5. My wife tells me it among the longest of my infamous shortcuts and I use it only when she is not in the car because she freaks out. (When I first arrived in town almost 25 years ago there was no movie theater and the plaza was pretty empty so it made a convenient cut over from North Main Street Extension to Route 5. But I digress. If you would like me to write a separate blog on my not-so short shortcuts, let me know.)

Recently, a colleague was asking me about whether she should let her sixth grader go to the movies on his own. I told her I thought it was OK and offered some tips. My last words were: “The real trouble starts when they don’t want to go to the movies anymore.”

When they were in middle school, it seemed my sons were at the movie theater nearly every weekend, sometimes both nights. My sons, about to be 15 and 17, still occasionally go. The last time my oldest went he drove. When they were in middle school, it was cool to skip dances and go to the movies. Apparently dances are more closely supervised than the movie theater. But about halfway through their freshman year both stopped going regularly because going to the movies was no longer cool. Now they prefer to hang out at friend’s houses in the cold weather and almost anywhere during the nice weather, including our pool.

I can’t believe I used to complain about having to pick them up at the movies. Hanging out is much more stressful on parents.

Let me know what you think.