A Rant, Movie Review, & New Parish!

For the record: the kid crying uncontrollably in the grocery store is mine.  And yes, your not-so-subtle stares & whispers about my parenting makes him sob harder.  He isn't crying because he is a total brat: he hates the cart.  What you may overlook is that he is a toddler and I'm doing my BEST.  The sign at the front of the store says "No shirt, no shoes, no service", not "no children that aren't 100% behaving".  At the end of the day, I still need to get groceries.  See, I realize that you also need to get groceries, which is why I turn a blind eye when you talk loudly on your cell phone or block the aisle with your cart or bump into me without saying "excuse me" or take 15 minutes to write a check so you can buy 3 items.  We're all just trying the best we can, so why don't we humble ourselves a bit and think of what the other person is going through before we start being unpleasant? Thanks.

Okay, now that I got a little bit of venting done...let's just say that our shopping trip to Whole Foods today was less than desirable.  This isn't anything new - people at any store in Denver are less-than-pleasant if your child does anything more than sit still and be silent.  I'm just really tired of it.  

 UPDATE: Now that I have cooled down somewhat, I would like to point out that there are those parents out there that are patient, kind, understanding, and empathetic.  To those people out there, I would like to thank you.  I truly appreciate it.  :)

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On another note: we took Johnny to see The Princess and the Frog on Saturday.  We had some free movie passes that we got as a gift for Christmas, so we decided to use them.  This movie experience was definitely not like the other movie experience with Johnny.  The only other time Johnny has been to the movie theater was for his 2nd birthday this last summer.  We had his birthday party the weekend after his birthday, so for his actual birthday I took him to the movies for the first time.  We went to The Scoop first and had ice cream and lunch and then went to a noon showing during the week.  Since it was a weekday, at noon, after this movie had been out for a few weeks, we were the only people except for a teen couple in the entire theater.  That was exactly what I was hoping for, especially since I had no idea how well he'd do in the movie.  The movie was Ice Age 3: Dawn of the Dinosaurs and Johnny sat quietly (except for the occasional "wows" and laughs) and eventually fell asleep 10 minutes before the end of the movie.  

This time was not as successful.  First off, we went on a Saturday (what we were thinking?!), but in our defense this was the only time John was available to come with us and we went at the noon showing thinking there would be less people.  We were wrong.  The theater was crowded.  Johnny sat in his seat for a while, and enjoyed the first 1/2 of the movie.  I think eventually he got bored of the movie and was tired of being shushed when he 1) laughed too loudly, 2) laughed too loudly at parts that were supposed to be sad (like when the main girl in the movie gets pushed down onto a table - yeah, my kid was the only one laughing in the entire theater), 3) screaming every time the voodoo "shadow man" appeared, or 4) talked loudly about other random things.  Once he was tired of watching the movie and being calmed down, he got really antsy and wanted to walk around.  When we wouldn't let him walk around, he got really mean.  Then his daddy took him out of the theater and he proceeded to cry.  Daddy brought him back into the theater, holding a tear-streaked Johnny, and quiet commenced for roughly 2 minutes before he had to be escorted out of the theater again.  

They missed the last twenty minutes of the movie because they would stand inside the door and watch and then Johnny would cry when the voodoo man came on the screen and they'd have to leave again.  When we finally left the theater and were walking toward our car, he started sobbing and trying to grab at the theater.  I'm sure he felt sad because he didn't get to see the end of the movie. 

The moral of this story: this movie -though a Disney movie - is not exactly suited for small children.  I base this on our own experience and the experiences of other parents I've talked to that had kids as old as 5 years.  It is a scary movie.  The voodoo "shadow man" and the voodoo demons are really scary.  I'll admit, I was even a little scared in some places.  If you were hoping to take your child to see this movie and they are younger than 7 or 8, then I'd suggest you wait for it to come out on video so you can fast-forward through really scary parts or turn the movie off (you waste a lot of money if you have to leave the movie theater early).  

As far as what John & I thought of the movie: John hated it.  He thought it was extremely boring and one of the worst Disney movies in his opinion. (Note: he didn't see the last 1/2 of the movie either.)  I liked it and thought the animation was good.  The story was good too, in my humble opinion.  But definitely scary for small children.  I think that if this movie had come out back when the other animated Disney movies came out, it would be better received.  Is it on the same level as the really great Disney movies like The Lion King? No, but it is still good like the other movies (Hercules, Mulan, etc.)  The problem is that this movie stands alone - it didn't come out when all the other animated films came out, and it is proceeded by the masterpieces of Pixar.  I will buy this movie for Johnny (though it may stay in its plastic until he's a little older) and I will applaud Disney's effort to include an African-American heroine as well as bringing back some of the animated styles for movies.  I just won't ask John to join me in my opinion. :)

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A last addition to this blog post: we watched Slumdog Millionaire last night for the first time from Netflix and we loved it!  We can definitely see why it won Best Picture .  Also, we found a new church here in Denver that we really really really really really like! :)  We were going to another church that we found when we first moved here, but we haven't really been fed spiritually going there.  Nor have we felt very welcome by the other parishioners.  Today we decided to try going to mass somewhere else, and we decided to check out the only Jesuit parish here in Denver (only about 10 min from our house).  The church is St. Ignatius Loyola Catholic Church and so far it is exactly what we are looking for spiritually!  Aside from the obvious fact that it is run by Jesuits (I love Jesuits - both at Gonzaga & everywhere!  They are my favorite and I find that I have a lot in mind with them about the Church and its purpose in the world), it is filled with a really diverse parish (hispanics, Africans, all different income levels, etc.).  Everyone was super-friendly and welcoming.  The homily was intellectually stimulating and the church itself was beautiful.  Since it is a Jesuit church, it focuses a great deal on social justice, peace, and education, which is definitely what we are looking for in our parish.  John & I both agree that we are going to try this church out for a few more weeks and then decide if we want to switch parishes, since we already belong to the other parish.  :)  It also makes it feel a little more like home, being near Jesuits!!