the SmockLady

Yep. That’s pretty much what I humiliatingly did about an hour ago. I threw a bit of a hissy fit. All the while thinking I didn’t throw a big enough hissy fit. And now? I’m eating my own disappointed-in-myself spoiled brat reactions. Because that is what I did. I reacted instead of responded.

I showed my girls just how NOT to act. That’s it. I was teaching them a good strong lesson in How Not To Act In A Public Movie Theater When Things Don’t Go Your Way. I mean it’s not like I stomped around. Or spoke loudly. Or rudely. Or made a scene. Or pushed the door open so strongly and loudly it might have fallen off it’s hinges. No. Not me. I didn’t do any of that. Nope not me. Because that would be how NOT to act when you don’t get your way.

It’s not like I went to the theater at 1:00pm to buy tickets for Prince Caspian so they wouldn’t be sold out when we got there tonight. It’s not like my girls are disappointed that they didn’t get to see it.

I am ashamed at myself. I have apologized to my girls for showing them that side of my anger.

Seriously, we went to the theater this afternoon at 1:00 to get two tickets for the 3:00 showing and three tickets for the 7:00 so SmockDaddy and Goro could go this afternoon while I stayed home with everyone else and then I could take the older girls this evening while they stayed home. No sitter, no little ones are going to see it with the reviews I’ve heard of some scenes so this was our fix. Split up. We’ve done this before and it works fine. Usually.

We got there tonight and walked right in. We got there at 6:40, 20 minutes before show time. Twenty minutes. The place was packed. The made everyone get into different lanes for different items at the snack counter: one line for drinks, one line for popcorn, and one line for other (candy). I didn’t realize this was going on until we were almost to the counter and I asked for a peach Icee and Milk Duds for one of the girls and the girl told me no Icees just small drinks. I’m looking at her a bit puzzled staring at the Icee cups and the machine spinning nicely and asked her if they were not frozen yet (because they looked fine) and I wanted a medium drink and I saw plenty of cups. She said I could have a small cup and could go to the other line for popcorn. I said I wanted a Peach Icee, a medium Sprite, a Medium Dr. Pepper, a box of Milk Duds, and two boxes of Whoppers. AND I wasn’t going to stand in two different lines to get it all. She told me that all I got with my ticket was a small drink and a small popcorn. I made it clear that I had never been given anything from the counter for free with my ticket before, but I would gladly take whatever size if I was getting freebies tonight. She looked puzzled and asked what movie I was going to see. I told her I had tickets to see Caspian. She said then you have to have a small coke and popcorn. My girls looked at me shaking there heads no (not because they always get what they want, but every time any of us eats popcorn at this place we see it again, soon, so we don’t ever get popcorn there).

The conversation finally clicked with the guy behind the counter fixing the drinks and asked if we were with the church group. AHA! Nope. Not. That cleared it up. We got what we wanted. But not for free. Shoot.

So we head down the corridor and there is a line a mile long. It is now ten minutes until the movie starts. I ask the usher why we couldn’t go sit down yet, assuming maybe they were still cleaning. He said that everyone had to wait together for the church group to go in. I explained we were not with the church group. He said that I still had to wait, but over there (as he pointed to the end of the line separated by a black rope from the rather large church group). I asked why we couldn’t go in and sit down we were not with the church group. All he said was that the church group got to go in first. HUH?

We wait and we wait and we wait. The clock finally turns seven. The open two sets of doors pointing all the church group into one door and then when it fills up they send the overflow into the other theater. Once they get where they want to go, then Joe Q. Public finally gets a turn at finding a seat. guess what? There were none left. Seventeen of us did not have a seat and others were walking up with tickets as we all made a bit of a mob scene about how they not only handled it, but sold too many tickets. I watched as one large group of about nine were so disgusted that they just left. one couple decided to take the two last seats that were found even though they would be split up by about three rows. One couple decided to see something else. And a few other people opted to trade their tickets for the 9:20 showing. Prince Caspian is two and a half hours long. I wasn’t going to keep them out that long. I might would have given them the choice, but birdie has somewhere to be with her Girl Scout Troop tomorrow at eight in the morning and won’t be back until night. She wouldn’t make it - or enjoy it - either one, the movie or the field trip. Me? I demanded my money back. LOUDLY. I watched my middle daughter fight back the tears as she didn’t want anyone seeing her cry. I watched my oldest daughter’s face sink but sweetly asked if it would be showing next Friday night. I told her I hoped so.

We maybe go to two movies a year. Maybe. The last movie we went to see was last summer.

I didn’t really stomp around. Although I did speak loudly and a bit sternly, but not rudely. I did forcefully push the exit door open to leave, but I didn’t break it off it’s hinges. Although I think I could have. I got to the car and then threw my hissy fit like a spoiled brat. I cried. I cursed this small town life and this small town and its nothingness. Not the four-letter word curse, just a curse of living here and how much I don’t like it. And how much I really needed to get out tonight. I was looking forward to the escape of the movie more than the movie itself. I love my children. I love my husband. I just sometimes need to get a bit of time away from the constant touching and needing and talking and needing to pay attention and the questions and needing to answer and and and. That’s just the way I am. My brain gets deep fried and I begin to fall apart and I need the break. I’ve learned my cues - it’s taken a lifetime to figure some of it out, but I know now. I am a better person when I have some time. Sad thing is, there is nothing else here to do instead.

Well, I could go walk around Waldemart, but eww. So instead I came home, threw my purse down in my office, and pouted. With a big fat bottom lip. Then I decided I would blog about my terrible actions and how I taught showed my daughters how NOT to act.

Then I decided to go through the pictures that some of you have sent to go along with your ideas. Yes, some of those ideas were new, some not. But that does not matter. What matters is that you participated and shared and I hope had fun doing so. I can’t wait to get the winning post up with all the goodness and glory you sent in.

p.s.
my spell checker does like like the words hissy or Icee.

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