Clouds, May 2010

Clouds, May 2010

Saturday, August 6, 2011

an event 6 years in the making


This is a collage of what we did this afternoon... GO HAYDEN!

I know what you're thinking... why are images on a movie screen, and a kid passed out in his seat worthy of celebration? The one where he's standing there (seemingly) without a shred of enthusiasm isn't helping either.


Yes, but he lasted through a movie. An entire movie. That is the WOW part. I don't care if his eyes were closed for 20 or 30 minutes of it, and if he still looked half-asleep by the time we left the theater... because my ADHD child actually lasted through an entire movie. (I know, I said that already.)

We have waited nearly a month and a half now for everyone else to go run and see Cars2. We intended to take him on a beautiful day to increase any chance of the theater being pretty empty, but already the show times are extremely limited-- as well as theaters where it's playing.

So even though it was an overcast day when we left for the movie, with a likely chance of rain, we decided it was time to give it a try. I almost changed my mind because he went to the bathroom twice this morning and new outings are generally discouraged on a 'poop-day', but following a third bm after lunch I figured there was nothing left in him to come out.


The movie started late-- or, maybe it's been so long since Dan and I have seen a movie that we forgot about the gap between the ticket-time (2:50) and the actual start-time (3:15ish).

Before the lights dimmed we had to repeatedly remind him it was starting soon, as he kept getting out of his seat. It was a blessing in disguise that we ended up in the back of the theater for that reason alone. 


Initially we went in to scope it out, and we planned on sitting in the first row of the 2nd tier-- extra walking room, and the guardrail in front of us instead of someone's back. But after we returned from the concession stand (he wanted all of us to go together), it ended up working out because the rear of the theater meant less attention drawn to us.

We bought two snack options to help him stay seated: a small fifty-dollar popcorn and a seventy-dollar order of nacho chips. The napkins were free. I also had back-up granola bites and cheese crackers in my purse.

Hayden actually thought the previews were the movie but I told him they were commercials, and the Cars movie would be on soon. I think we all enjoyed the short Toy Story animation thrown in there-- he got excited when he saw Buzz and stood up and clapped :) He said, "me have one!" I said, "that's right-- you have Buzz at home!"


He lasted over an hour. UNREAL. Again, he did stand up a bunch of times-- at one point even handed me his sippy cup as a signal that he was ready to go-- but eventually he sat back down. He had been blinking a lot even though he was still hyper, so I knew he was exhausted. 


Eventually I looked over and he was asleep. 


After the movie ended he was still sleeping. We gently nudged him awake during the credits. The theater was empty at this point, and he looked confused for a moment. But after we got up and headed down the dark hallway to exit, he repeated, "best movie! best movie guys!" With his hand in the air, of course, because he tends to put his palm out when he really wants to emphasize what he's saying.

He continued to thank us for most of the 25-minute drive home.


So, again, GO HAYDEN! This was a WOW day (as his teacher would say)
:-D

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