The Drive-In

I think the year was 1982.  We donned our pj's, popped a large paper grocery bag's worth of popcorn. Gathered up some drinks, blankets, pillows, loaded into our clanky old family car  (was it a green chevy Impala?) and headed to the drive-in.  It was a double feature, E.T. and The Incredible Shrinking Woman (Lily Tomlin-- anyone remember that classic!?).  We arrived as the sun was setting, laid our blankets and pillows out on the roof of the car, climbed up and gazed for hours at the massive screen under the stars.

The magic of the drive-in and the magic of E.T. melded into one of my clearest childhood memories.  It was a perfect night.

Fast forward to present day... 30 years later... I have been stalking a nearby drive-in since last spring, waiting for the right movie (kid appropriate) to be playing on the right night, so that I can share the magic of drive-in movies with my little ones.  Last week, as we returned home from our summer in NY, the drive-in announced this weekends 'space' theme.  'E.T'!

And so, last night, we popped a generous supply of popcorn, gathered drinks, blankets, pillows (and two lawn chairs for my hubby and I), and headed out to the drive-in.  My big guy invited a friend along for the adventure, and the three boys nested into the back of the station wagon with popcorn in hand, B and I set up our high back chairs, unpacked two glasses of wine (poured into mason jars) and watched E.T, under the stars.  The sound boomed from car radios across the field, laughter echoed in the air, mosquitoes cursed my foresight in having come armed with bug spray.  It was magic, take two.