Movie Adventures (Part 1)

One of these days, I am going to have enough material about my experiences at movie theatres to write a book on that subject alone. For now, though, you, gentle reader, are seeing a preview of that book in the making.

This chapter is zany.

Last Saturday, after months of staying away from involvement with people at my church (needing the space and the distance to heal), I went out with a group of women for dinner and a movie. Most were moms who left elementary school-age kids home with dads for a night of relaxation and laughter. (There were seven of us, ranging from early 30's to late 40's.)

I met them at the restaurant and started the evening feeling ebullient that I could be independent and do this without needing assistance. Learning how to load and unload my wheelchair into my vehicle by myself has opened intoxicating possibilities and has empowered me to grab hold of life with gusto.

I was late getting there and, instead of taking the extra time needed to wrestle with assembling my wheelchair, I asked a family walking past if they could give me a hand. The mom and dad fell over themselves to help, with their two young sons intently watching. I like to think that I blessed them by asking.

Quick note on dinner as it related to my fitness quest: I stayed 100% on plan with a small steak, asparagus and salad. I thoroughly enjoyed watching the others enjoying their appetizers and desserts. Actually, sitting there sipping a cup of coffee while watching their smiles as they dug into their confections, and knowing that I was doing a good thing for my body by abstaining, felt like I had dived into a triple-decker chocolate souffle. I didn't feel deprived. I felt like the abundance of the universe was mine. Delicious.

We finished dinner and assembled the troops to drive to the theatre to watch our chick flick of choice: "Eat,Pray,Love" (How perfect for a woman who desperately needed a time with friends to do all of that!) Jen rode with me and that five minute drive was pure gold as she shared her heart's passion to nurture children in our faith. Way more riveting than a movie!

The movie... theatre was packed. All of the seats except the one row with cutouts for wheelchairs were accessed only by climbing or descending stairs. Two of my friends stayed with me on that row and the rest went towards the front a couple of rows, down two, shallow steps.

I sat there feeling guilty for being the reason the group couldn't sit together. This is the worst part about disability... the way it can impede experiences of community because of physical barriers.

The trailers were just beginning, when I had a lightbulb flash. "Hey Jen and Jeanetta! Lets' go down there and sit with them. I can roll down those itty bitty stairs!" NOT!!! At the first stair, the cushion on my wheelchair slid forward and dumped me awkwardly flat on the ground!!! A sweet man sitting on that aisle and my friends rushed to help. What they didn't realize was that getting to my feet or back into the chair would likely be an involved process with me needing to give verbal directions and make numerous attempts before creatively figuring out how to align the vector forces in the physical space to do this thing. I entreated them to just wait until the movie was over and let me sit on the aisle through it. Oh well, at least I had achieved my goal: we were all sitting together in the theatre! My friends were absolute loves. Jen reached out and squeezed my hand. Michelle moved my chair so I could lean back against it for a backrest. Those small acts spoke loudly of love and compassion. It's okay to sit on the floor when you know you are loved. Truly.

I confess, I was distracted through the movie, even though I enjoyed it immensely. I was busy plotting different possibilities for getting up when it was over that wouldn't involve having to call the Knoxville Fire Department. Oh, and fervent prayers, and I do mean fervent, that my bladder would not fill during the two hour movie. (I had 2 diet cokes and two cups of coffee at dinner, so this was a VERY REAL concern!) I know my bladder and when it is full, if I put pressure on it through exertion, urine doesn't just leak but erupts and I am unable to stop it. Talk about turning an already difficult situation into something off the charts! (I won't keep you in suspense. Apparently God heard my prayers. I even made it all the way home before going to the bathroom after the movie. Crisis averted. I love you, God!

Let's finish this story in the next post shall we?
Did the firetruck make a run that night to the Turkey Creek theatre?
Am I writing this today, days later, still stuck on that aisle floor being kept alive with popcorn and milk duds?

Stay tuned...