Date Night

The kids are on spring break this week. Believe it or not, they have never had a spring break!
Jim and I have decided to take as much of the week as possible to spend with the kids. We have at least one meeting each day, but for the most part will be able to get away and spend some time with them.

Last night at about 9:00pm Jim and I decided to go out on a date. We went to Kent, OH (which is only about 5 minutes from us) for a movie. It was quite an experience. The movie was good. We saw "Reign over Me". It is about a guy who basically got "lost" after his family died in one of the planes during 9/11. His friend was a bit "lost" in his life too, even though his life seemed normal.

No one was in the theater until about 30 seconds before the movie started. As we sat there it occurred to us that we were the oldest people in the theater... by about 20 years! Kent, Ohio is college town (Kent State University). The college kids are on spring break so the place ended up being pretty full. It was an odd feeling being there. They laughed in places that seemed odd to us and then we laughed in other places, by ourselves of course.

We both whispered to each other, asking how these kids would understand and truly "get" the movie. Most were probably around 12 when 9/11 happened. Most probably didn't have spouses. Most probably didn't have kids or a family of their own. Though it was a good movie and younger people might enjoy it, until you have certain life experiences I don't think you can truly "get" the entire movie.

Jim and I then embarked on a discussion of the importance of life experience. Education, wisdom and intellegience are great, but experience does count. I think about the Army in general and discussions that happen regarding the leadership of the Army. Many push for younger more culturally relevant individuals to be put into higher leadership roles. Youth can bring a lot to the table, but so does experience. There is a difference between seeing something happen from a distance and actually experiencing it.

As we left the theater EVERYONE seemed to be looking at us. It was freaky. There are not too many situations where I feel like the oddball, but that definitely was one of them.