We picked what seemed like a kid-friendly enough movie coupled with something that my eldest would like to see, and picked a nice early afternoon matinee.
We got everyone fed, dressed, ready, and loaded into the van fairly easily considering the antics that can happen most days!
I felt like we were late, but we managed to get to the box office in time to get our tickets, get popcorn (thanks to the kind concession folks for the small paper cups to dole it out) and find the right theater.
We were about five minutes later than the actual start time of the show, but to my surprise the seats we needed were still available. In fact, the entire front row was empty by the railings, so we sat in our usual spot.
I had expected, for some reason, to find that this theater was as accommodating as the one in Bossier, however I was to be proven wrong on that theory!
I had no idea that our stroller wouldn't really fit in the space down front as it always did with plenty of room to spare at the other theater (yes we had done movies before successfully-several at that.)
Since we were the only ones seated down by the railings (and this theater didn't exactly have a way for us to access anything closer to the front or I would have tried that instead) I figured we would be good to go.
I was soo terribly wrong, as two different sets of people came in to also sit down by the railings.
They both literally, at different times, came over and literally stared at my kids as if we were some sort of exhibit at the zoo.
One set actually asked if we planned on moving to another area of the theater, to which I replied, "No, ma'am I won't be able to get the stroller up or down the stairs without risking it tumping over."
They were NOT happy with this response for some reason or another. I suppose I should take a minute to explain that the stroller is very long, narrow, and bulky, unlike most baby strollers.
This means that if I must go to the bathroom, I must try and use the handicapped stall so that I don't have to leave my children unattended at any time. We often have to use the handicapped areas because of the bulk and set-up of most public places because of our size.
Apparently, these ladies felt that I should have moved somewhere else, even though the theater wasn't set up to allow for us to be able to do so.
They basically said that they wanted to sit in the seats where we had chosen, instead of the other open available seats in the same section.
During the movie, both parties made a point of crossing in front of us if they needed to go to the concession stand or to the bathroom, even though there were alternative exits to their immediate left or right that went the same place.
They would stop as they crossed in front of us to block the babies view of the screen, and once even went out of their way to bump the stroller, causing one of the kids to dump their cup of popcorn down their front at one point.
Of course this activity eventually upset one of the kids. Thankfully, my other two little people are a little bit more tolerant of others.
But, once one was upset, it became very difficult to appease him. I tried taking him out of the show (they actually made it 3/4's of the way thru without getting bored/sad too which was amazing given the factors involved.)
Taking one baby out, though, caused the other 2 to become upset, so I had to go back inside and get the stroller. Normally, this would not have been a problem, but going in, nobody had been seated down front.
On the way out, the ladies seated next to the exit had stretched all the way out, and I couldn't get past them without having to ask them to please move their feet.
This only served to make them angrier. Once outside in the lobby, I waited for my eldest, of whom I told to stay and watch the rest of the movie since there was only about fifteen minutes left anyways.
Vivienne cried because I had been forced to leave the diaper bag behind due to the spatial exit issues (I didn't want to cause the angry ladies any more problems than our presence already had or so it seemed)and she thought we had left her baby behind and it had made her sad.
Kai was out of popcorn, and Kian wanted to play. I ended up making them bracelets from bits of paper I had in the basket of the stroller to keep them appeased while we waited.
I wondered why the usher was hovering. She was very happy to come over and let us know that they had three complaints about us during that movie.
Once the movie let out, the very same ladies who had voiced their displeasure with us came over to stare and talk about my kids as if they were some sort of zoo exhibit.
When my son finally came out of the theater, he was beet red. He was very upset, because while he was rounding up the diaper bag, my purse, and the various cups and toys that we had dropped, the same usher had advised him that he needed to make sure that in the future his siblings were kept on a tight leash.
She also used some other unkind slurs that I cannot repeat here, but it really upset him, so my eldest decided to nicely speak his mind about the subject.
I am really surprised at the lack of tolerance people have for mothers out with their children now-a-days.
It's no wonder that I rarely leave the house anymore with my kids. Can you understand why now?
I know that a lot of folks think children should be seen and not heard. Honestly, these same folks were once children.
I even suspect that they may have even been allowed to act like children, too!
It would have been one thing if my kids were all running rampant all over the place, hanging from the rafters and screaming at the top of their lungs and throwing popcorn at the unsuspecting, but the fact of the matter is that the three of them spent most of the movie strapped into their stroller.
One was allowed out to sit in our laps. When he became restless, I allowed my son to try and take him to a seat closer to the screen where nobody was sitting so they could try a different seat.
Apparently, I am expected to stay home with my kids til they are old enough to drive or something, who knows!
But, the more I think about it, the sillier it becomes. I wasn't attending an R rated movie, and it was not an evening showing. I don't take my kids to Earnest's for dinner, we go places during the day where it should be expected that Mums would be out and about with their kids.
We have the right to do normal family things, too, and I feel that people should try and be more tolerant of us Mums who are brave enough to try and face the masses with our kids!
I hate and rather resent being made to feel agoraphobic and that I should keep my kids caged up at home like a bunch of animals!
They are children, and how can I teach them anything if I cannot take them anywhere!
Remember, the next time someone says something negative about one of us as a Mum out with our kids, that these same crotchety people must have been children, too, once upon a time!
I can bet that their Mum took them places, and that they acted up like children often do, and that their Mums have stories about them as well!
Mimi is the mother of four: a 12 1/2-year-old boy and 1-year-old triplets (two boys and one girl). She is very happily busy taking care of everyone, whether it's the triplets' multiple doctor appointments, attempting a shopping excursion or volunteering to plan her son's school renaissance festival.
