At the movies

I went to a movie by myself yesterday. I have never done that before. Yes, I am thirty-something and fairly liberated and independent. Yes, I have watched movies alone before, but at home on VHS or DVD or cable. But I hadn't gone to the theater by myself to see a movie. Driving there yesterday I tried to figure out why and the best I could come up with is : even though you don't talk at the movies, going to the movies was always a social thing for me. It was what we did for entertainment before we could drive, a safe first date, an event in college (where for most of my time there we had to drive to another town to see a movie!)...

So why did I finally venture out and go by myself yesterday? As I've said before, I've got a lot of free time on my hands these days. And the movie I wanted to see was not something that the Attorney would want to watch. And, I'm feeling the need to break some of my old cycles, to do things differently. I need to feel like I am using this time instead of being used by it. So off to the movies!

I saw "The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2" and I liked it. I read the first book as part of my book club and ended up reading the whole series. I went with a group of girls to see the first movie when it came out. In anticipation of the sequel, I re-read the series, finishing the last one yesterday morning. I enjoy reading young adult literature, which is good since I am a children's librarian! Some is better than others, and this series, while not profound or life-changing, is good. Well developed, relatable characters. Just enough angst and romance. Bonds of friendship that grow and change with time, but don't break. Two movies out of four books means you don't get everything (but you never do with a film adaption! That's a post for another day!), but they did a good job capturing the spirit and major plot lines of the books. And the casting was terrific - when I re-read the books those actresses were the characters in my head.

I thought I might be alone in the theater - a 1:30 matinee of a teen oriented movie during the second week of school - but I wasn't. There were two other women there, so I had the social element I enjoy about going to the movies, even though it wasn't with people I know. I give my first solo visit to the movies a thumbs up and plan to do it again soon.