What Was Your First?

Last January, we had a big milestone in our house – we took Vivienne to see her first movie in a movie theatre.

I was really sweating this whole escapade. A LOT. My husband and I are movie buffs, and both of us work in entertainment. So we wanted to make a big deal out of this experience, and give it a kind of weight that would make it truly special. Other moms in my little group of friends were starting to take their children to the movies (they were all around the same age – 2 and a half), and most of them were going to see The Muppets, since it was still in theatres at the time. I didn't want to take Vivi to something we hadn't seen yet – I wasn't interested in having an unexpected scare or surprise, if you know what I'm talking about.

We got lucky – it just so happened that a local theatre was doing a Miyazaki celebration, and one of the films featured was My Neighbor Totoro. We are huge Miyazaki fans, and Vivi loves Totoro, so we thought that would be the perfect choice, a perfect indoctrination into the wonders of seeing something on the big screen. In fact, it was her first film that we watched at home, (followed by the documentary Babies, in case you are looking for a great toddler friendly movie), so we knew what to expect from it, and felt that it would be nice and familiar.

I couldn't have been more pleased with how it all went. Vivi brought her stuffed Totoro to the theatre, and when we got there, we found that we weren't the only ones sporting one. People wore their Totoro tee shirts, back packs, and brought their stuffed soot sprites. When the opening titles came up, everyone clapped and cheered – and the whole audience sang the opening theme, "Hey! Let's Go!" It was just a wonderful experience.

I called my parents to ask them what my first movie in an honest to God theatre was... and THEY COULD NOT REMEMBER. I was kind of annoyed! And it made me think – am I annoyed because I'm a little nuts about stuff like this? (This is not an unfamiliar feeling when dealing with my parents.) Or is it because I'm a super geek about movies and television? As geek parents, there are certain things that we chew on and obsess over, perhaps more than other people do.

So I got to wondering about all the other geek parents out there – what were your firsts? Do you remember what movie you first saw in a movie theatre? What was the first movie that you took your first child to? What was your first date or first movie you saw with your spouse? (Mine is Apollo 13.)

And more to the point... I'd really love to hear if you obsessed about this first movie experience as much as I did!