It doesn’t seem possible, but I am on the verge of going to my second movie within a mere three weeks. This is a major novelty for me. When Lee and I were dating, we went to at least one movie every week. Now we go to one or two movies every year.

“The Incredibles” opens this weekend. It is the new Pixar animation offering. We have decided it is to be Tommy’s first movie. I can’t wait to see his reaction–the popcorn, the Coke, the seats and the giant screen. It is all beyond his comprehension. To him, watching a movie means popping a DVD in the player and feeding microwave popcorn to the dog. It isn’t an “event” or a special treat. In our family, going to the first movie is a milestone, much like the first day of preschool or the first time on a carousel. You only get that chance to see your child’s initial reaction once in their lifetime, to guide them as they discover something brand new and really cool.

Aidan’s first movie was Disney’s animated “Tarzan”, the summer of 1999. She was a few weeks shy of turning two and very verbal for her age. She sat on her diaper bag, a makeshift booster seat. As Tarzan swung around from vine to vine, his hair flowing, Phil Collins’s voice over-stretching earnestly through the blaring speakers, Aidan whispered, “look, mama, it’s Jesus!”

“Monster’s Inc.” was Ryley’s first movie. I took Aidan to her first movie, so Lee got to take Ryley to his first movie. The theater was in a mall, so while Ryley and Lee were in the movie, I shopped with Aidan and Sam. We waited outside the theater to get the scoop on how the movie went. Lee and Ryley came out of the theater holding hands, Ryley was bouncing. He was so happy. Lee said that when the movie ended, Ryley started clapping wildly, stood on his seat, and demanded “Hugs! Hugs! Hugs!”

Sammy–ever the strong, silent type–saw “Finding Nemo” (there seems to be a Pixar theme). He was scared of the shark at the beginning and sat with his hand clamped over his mouth for the first fifteen minutes. Then he relaxed and ate about 3 pounds of popcorn. He didn’t say a word, just soaked it all in like he had already been to dozens of movies.

The reactions were as varied as the personalities of the kids.

Tomorrow, it is Tommy’s turn.

I could tell from first-light it had snowed, before looking out the window. Snowy mornings have a glow that seeps in between the cracks of the blinds and curtains. One by one, the kids made their way into our room to wake us up, not knowing our first snow had arrived. I told them to go downstairs and look out the window into the backyard.

Soon I heard screaming: “It’s CHRISTMAS!! It’s CHRISTMAS!!” No, it’s just November.

John Updike wrote a lovely book of poetry for children entitled A Child’s Calendar. Each month has its own poem, and I have always liked “November”. Here it is, to celebrate new snow and a new month:

The stripped and shapely
Maple grieves
The loss of her
Departed leaves.

The ground is hard,
As hard as stone.
The year is old,
The birds are flown.

And yet the world,
Nevertheless,
Displays a certain
Loveliness—

The beauty of
The bone. Tall God
Must see our souls
This way, and nod.

Give thanks: we do,
Each in his place
Around the table
During grace.

It is simple and crisp, like November itself.