What did you say to my child???

Today was the opening day for the new Disney nature film, "Earth." Caitlyn and I were antsy to see it- we'd been watching trailers for weeks! We got to the theater early enough to have a picnic lunch in the plaza, and then went inside to get situated for the show.

One thing that is fabulous about being a stay at home mom is that we never have to deal with crowds, especially at places like the movies or local museums since we always try to go in the middle of the week during the day. There were maybe 20 other people in the theater, Lorelei fell asleep quickly, we got hot, fresh popcorn- the movie gods were definitely smiling on us!

As the movie began, a young, single woman came in and sat down 3 seats down from us. A lot of the kids in theater were excited about the opening and lots of them were quietly commenting on the scenes. "Look! A waterfall! Bears! Whales! I want one!" I realize that movie theater courtesy means that talking is a big, fat no no, but at a G rated movie in the middle of the day, you just have to expect that there is going to be some talking. As a parent, I feel like you need to remind your kids to use a whisper, keep them from constantly talking and keep them in their seats. Within reason, I'd never be offended by little kid commentary, especially from preschoolers. Honestly, the preteens at "Twilight" were far, far more obnoxious.

However, the young woman sitting near us was highly annoyed by the little comments.  She kept repeating, "shhhhhhhhh!" in a progressively louder voice. I reminded Caitlyn to whisper, and she turned to me and said, "Mama, look at that bear's tiny little feet! Aww."  I was so proud of her excitement, her empathy with nature, AND her quiet little whisper voice.

And then, it happened. The young woman looked right at Caitlyn and said, in a very loud voice, "SHUT UP!" 

I instantly saw red- who says that to a kid? Plus, Caitlyn actually was being very, very good. I sat in my seat, trying to figure out what to do. Finally, after about a minute of deep breathing, I went over to the woman, sat down, and said quietly, "I do not tell my daughter to shut up, and I am certainly not ok with someone else saying that to her, either." The woman made a comment about her talking, and I just replied, "If you have an issue with her behavior, please address it with me or the manager of the theater."

I quietly went back to my seat, the woman ended up moving to the back of the theater where there were no other patrons, and Caitlyn and I continued to watch the movie. The movie itself was wonderful. The vistas were incredible, the story equally heart wrenching and celebratory, and the message powerful. Nature is beautiful, cruel, strong and amazing, and this movie did an amazing job conveying that. We were both taken in.

When we left the theater, Caitlyn talked a lot about her favorite animals. She kept saying, "They are sooooo beautiful." Then she looked at me with her big blue eyes and said, "Mama, we have to take care of our planet."

She just gets it- I love her to pieces.