Pillow Forts and Popcorn for the Win
This is a short post, folks. After all my birthday is arriving, and I have other places where my energy should be spent. Like this one.
School functions are just………. Ugh. The gymnasium is noisy, the floors squeak, kids run into my body from every angle, the loud speaker is loud, I don’t recognize any of the other parents (until my wife points someone out and I squint and nod like I know who it’s supposed to be). But my kids love going. They love the holiday craft night, they love movie night, they love the bouncy inflatable slide thing the school put up in the basketball court one year, they love the tiny bags of popcorn, they love science night, and they love Halloween with all the other kids in costume. How can I deny them?
I’ve been to so many functions at their schools that I dread the announcement of another. I hate crowds. And so when one of the recent movie nights was advertised, I came up with a plan.
“You really want to go to movie night in the school gym?”
“Yes!!” they both shouted.
“But we’ve seen the Minion movie. It’s funny, and I love Otto, but it’s not new.”
“We don’t mind,” they said sweetly.
“And there is popcorn,” said my oldest.
The Plan
You want popcorn? I’ve got your popcorn right here. And look, mine comes with M&Ms snuck into the bowl.
*wink*
You want a movie? Let’s watch something really cool you haven’t seen before. Something the school would never play for a crowd. Like The Mummy. Or Wonder Woman. Or Ghostbusters.
You want a fun time mixed in? I can cut you a good deal. Try this…..
PILLOW FORT
That’s right, you can grab every single pillow in the house and build the biggest, baddest pillow fort the world has ever known right here with this insanely huge couch and big-screen TV.
And we can stay up late. Later than the school dance party. Late enough your mother is going to go to bed and leave me in charge. Late enough we will all have regrets on Saturday morning.
The Result
My kids bought it. And they bought in hard. In fact, I saw the (official) flyer for the school dance this week, and I started to panic about having “another school thing” to attend with them, but my fears were for nothing. My youngest was in full artist mode this morning making flyers of his own to hand out to everyone in the house (possibly including the dog), inviting us all to pillow fort and movie night in the TV room, which also happens to be on Papi’s birthday.
Now that’s a win.
I can’t imagine anywhere better on my 45th birthday than in an epic pillow fort with my two kids, a bag of popcorn between us, some totally inappropriate quantities of sugar and chocolate thrown in, and no reasonable bedtime in sight.
Your trans friend,
Robin