Boldly Continuing On....

Growing up our family had very different schedules, so FHE didn't always occur on Monday night. In fact it didn't always start with a prayer, or have a song, scripture, lesson and treat. But my parents always made sure that we did have one night together as a family. And a lot of times this meant a weekend night. As I got older it became harder to give up my weekends. I wanted to go out with my friends. I can think of several nights that I hated the fact that I was missing a party or a date. But it seems that without fail, the times I HAD to do a family activity and miss something that I thought was "important" I always ended up the evening glad I had stayed with my family.
Our usual night together quickly became known as Family Movie Night (my dad loved movies, plays, concerts, musicals). And I found some great shows that way. Thinking back now, I wonder if I really loved the shows as much or the time I got to spend with my family. I kicked and screamed to have to miss swimming with my friends to go with my dad to see La Bamba. I ended up seeing that one in the movie theater 7 times I loved it so much. Or there was the New Years Eve of 9th grade when I had been invited to my first big party only to have to spend the evening seeing Dances With Wolves. Yep, you guessed it, another favorite! One night in high school I had to turn down a date. I tried to scowl, but our family night movie ended up being The Party with Peter Sellers, I thought I was going to lose a kidney I was laughing so hard. I have not seen any of those shows for so long, if I watched them again, on my own would they be as fun? It doesn't seem like it, but I have a way to ensure I would enjoy each of them again: watch them with my own family!
And so we have started movie night. And the kids moan and groan about the shows mom and dad sometimes pick, but they always end up liking them. So tonight we boldly took them down memory lane and watched the first episode of the Original Star Trek. L was fascinated with the shape shifting alien. M was glad to discover that in the future Spock uses a "bluetooth" and C was happy to realize that the ship looked just like the one she had gotten in her kids meal last week. D and I just laughed at everything, but with my little Pooh Bear snuggled in my lap, my squishsquish holding my hand, and my minchkin asking a million how come questions I figured out why mom and dad made us watch all those shows-and I am sure glad they did!