Drive-In-Movies

Yesterday as I was driving my kids home from school and listening to "The Bee Movie" for the umpteenth time I realized that I had never actually seen the movie. I listen to movies almost daily in my car as I chauffeur my kids around but a lot of their movies I just have not sit down to watch. Unfortunately most of my families movie time is in the car. And since I am usually the one driving, I have decided it is safer for most of us if I don't watch (though my husband thinks he has mastered the watch and drive, which I clarify here, HE HAS NOT!). When we first got the big mormon family suburban with the DVD player I was planning to not let my kids watch movies unless we were traveling. That seems funny to me now. I have justified that since I drive to and from my kids school which is 15 min away, which is a 30 min round trip, which is usually twice a day, five days a week, 9 months a year for the last five years. If my calculations are correct that is 180 hours a year. That is the equivalent of a few round trips to New York and back. And that is not counting the trips to lessons, the church a few times a week etc... I think with that kind of driving time, me the driver deserves to have her passengers entertained.

At first we had earphones for the kids and I got the radio. Well the kids quickly displayed they were stronger than the earphones and they went to broken electronics heaven. So now I get the earphones to my IPOD and portable radio while my kids get "Enchanted" in stereo. You know it is bad when the 4 year old can't go on a 5 min drive to the store without wanting to watch something. And sometimes I let him. Remember when drive in movies were such a fun outing? The novelty of sitting in you car and watching a movie and listening to it on really bad speakers? Well in my car it is no longer a novelty but a necessity for this mom's sanity.