Disappointed but Not Disappointed

We have been trying to be much more intentional about scheduling date nights (once the third son arrived, I'm sorry to say we let almost a whole year slip away with perhaps only two or three dates in that time). Of course, we always know that there will be difficulties to maneuver (the chief one being that we still have NO babysitter). We usually plan to skip naps for the little boys and put them down by 7:30, so we can start with our meal and movie (yes, it is a limited routine, but better than nothing).

The first date in 2008 went well. We watched "About Schmidt" which had its funny moments and sad, touching moments. For the second date, I picked up two movies at the library (one called "Runaway Jury" - since I have been called as a possible juror for the year 2008 - groan - another blog on this one, for sure; the other, an old Hitchcock made in 1936 - "The Lady Vanishes"). After 20 minutes of the jury movie, my husband said he really didn't like it at all, so we tried the Hitchcock. Oh, my. The first half hour was so slow and hard to follow, that ... alas, my husband gave up and went to bed. I finished watching the whole thing - especially after he had looked up the movie on-line, while I was watching, to tell me where to look for Hitchcock's cameo appearance. It was not one of Hitchcock's best, but I enjoyed it slightly.

So, last night, we determined ahead of time what we might like to watch and agreed upon a Sandra Bullock movie called "Premonition." We allowed ES to have a friend sleep over and made arrangements to take them to a middle school lock-in at an indoor, inflatable jump center in a nearby town. Here is where the thread of my tale begins to unravel. After the friend arrived, I attempted to call the jump place (to be sure I didn't drive twenty minutes to discover locked doors). Alas, due to poor turnout when they started these events in December, they have discontinued the option. The boys were bummed. So, we juggle our plans and decide to take them to select a video game on the way to pick up the pizza. Half-way through dinner we realize that the friend isn't eating much. He explains that he is feeling sick. We send them to the room to game while we clean-up and agonize over our desire to just send the kid home (who wants another child, sick, in their home - hands anyone?). I head off to put MS down, while hubby agrees to put YS down. Somewhere in the middle, the friend decides he'd better have his mom come get him, so as hubby is seeing him off at the door, I emerge from MS's room to find YS in the toilet (no, not face down, thankfully, but arm-deep!). Nobody knows who left the door ajar but my husband thinks I suspect it is him (I have no suspicions, just frustrations). After cleaning this disaster and getting YS down, we finally settle in for our movie.

By about 10, and only half-way into the movie, hubby can't stay awake. It is a common problem we encounter, since he usually heads to bed by 9 or 10 and rises at 5 each morning, while I sleep as long as the little boys will allow and stay up until midnight or 1 a.m. Ships passing in the night, I know. He headed off to bed and I watched the whole thing (despite several spots where the DVD went bad - I was determined).

This is the part where I was not disappointed. The movie was very good. It is about a woman who wakes one morning to learn that her husband has died in a car accident. However, when she awakens the following morning, he is alive and well. She discovers that it is an earlier day of the week (I guess I could understand how a mom could lose track of the days of her week). Her days are all disjointed, waking one day to find him dead and the next, to find him alive still. She is trying to make sense of the premonitions (for they apply to other things besides his death) and take some action to avoid the date with death. At first, it was a little hard to follow, but I did get into it after a bit. The story takes several different twists. I watched the alternate ending offered, but was more satisfied with the ending the editors finally chose. It was certainly worth watching ! Now, if I can get my hubby to watch the last half with me again, some night when we can get the boys to bed early and survive possible illness within the next four days. That's not asking for much, is it???