Movie Date
“I have a theory that movies operate on the level of dreams, where you dream yourself.”—Meryl Streep.
Zoe Greece
My granddaughter, Zoe, and I have been having a date for many years on Friday afternoons to watch old movies. I wish we could swim together, stroll in the woods, or walk down some of Little Rock’s beautiful trails, but my physical disability makes that too difficult. However, we can curl up in the king-size bed in our master bedroom, all lights out, each covered by our favorite blankets, while we eat popcorn and watch movies. We have seen almost every musical made. Sometimes we watch drama, and less often, comedy.
One week, Zoe saw Some Like It Hot for the first time. Recently, we watched Are You There, God? It’s Me, Margaret. I forgot to mention Zoe has just left for college in New Orleans, and I know we will miss these movie dates. We usually talk a little about the film after it is over. Sometimes there is much to discuss; at other times, there is very little. One of my favorites to see with her was Babette’s Feast, a film and food and life.
Zoe is a Greek word for life. This is a recent photograph of Zoe on her first trip with friends to Greece a recent summer. Life is what our grandchildren teach us about, life in the present moment.
In the past, I have shared with Zoe paintings from my favorite art museums, and rarely have we read poetry together. But, mainly, there is so much grandparents want to share with their precious grandchildren.
However, it is predominately about the pleasure of being in our grandchildren’s presence. They connect us to our souls. I have learned to drop everything I am doing and be with her if she texts about a potential movie date.
For me, this movie date has become an icon of what prayer time may be about. I think there is some built-in homing device through which God and we yearn for each other’s presence. Prayer is occasionally words, but mostly presence. I believe God longs to share God’s experience, God’s amazing world, with us, but mostly God longs for our presence—just as there is a conscious and maybe even a stronger unconscious longing in us just to be in God’s presence.
