The movies

I am missing the cinema. No film in particular, though I've a list a mile long I'd like to see right now. Just the act of grabbing my bag and a jumper, heading up to Norton Street or King Street, buying my ticket, browsing in the bookshop while I wait for the film to start, then grabbing a soy latte or a choc top on my way in. The dark of the cinema, the noise of the speakers, the muffled conversation of the other patrons. The ads, even the ads. Then the film.

I like to see movies with other people, but I LOVE to see them on my own. I love to kick off my shoes and smoosh down in my chair, knees up against the chair in front. Ideally there is no-one sitting anywhere near me, though I've cohabited closely in the past for a blockbuster on opening week.

Movies were a weekly, sometimes twice-a-week thing for me pre-kids. After Lola was born, I took her with me to the Babes in Arms sessions. She saw a lot of good films before she could crawl. As she got older, I'd occasionally dash out alone for a Saturday night or Sunday afternoon session while she slept. But now that I'm the food source for two newbies, that has all ground to a halt. And I find myself pining for that one thing, an evening every couple of weeks for the ritual of bookshop, coffee, cinema and solitude. Just when the babes were getting a bit more predictable and I thought I could launch into it, sleep issues have gotten in the way. Me, or in the very least my boobs, need to be at home most evenings, for most of the evening, for the time being.

I think I might take a trip to the local video shop this weekend. I can at least make a start on that list of films I want to see, even if it's in my lounge room.