Movie Magic

Last month, about the same time I officially went full-time in the pharmacy, my dad gave me a call.
This is unusual in and of itself. My dad and I don't talk much. He's busy, I'm busy.
The fact that he called in the middle of a weekday was intriguing.
So I called him back.
He had a proposal. Sharon, the manager at the movie theater, was retiring after 25 years of service, and that put my dad in a pickle. The assistant manager would take over, but he needed somebody to help her. He knew I had been working part-time, so he asked if I would consider stepping in.
To me, it was a no-brainer. I love movies. I love the whole environment of the movie theater. I love people.
After discussing it with Bill, I said yes.
My main inner conflict stemmed from the fact that I am a mother. The boys are older, and really don't need me like they would if they were little, but they are still my first priority in life, and I have guilt about not being there for them as much as possible.
I will eventually have to make a choice. But I don't want to make it yet.
The best part, the part that really drives me every working day in these early weeks, is that I am saving 100% of the second job earnings for new flooring in my house. I live with four guys. The carpeting is original to the house.
Do you have a visual yet?
The carpet must go. And it will not be replaced with carpet. My son and my younger stepson have severe allergies and occasional asthma flare-ups, respectively. We live on a dirt road. I think that a lot of really bad stuff gets trapped in the carpet fibers. In the two and a half years I have lived here, we have gone through four vacuums. They just can't keep up.
I'm thinking hardwood and tile. But I digress.
I started working at the theater a month ago, and I LOVE IT. I love it all. I love that people still come to movies, in the age of extreme pirating. I love that people are excited to be there. I want to help their experience be the best that it can be.
I finally always know what's playing. And I usually know what time.
Maybe it's because my dad has owned the movie theater since I was seven, but I have always felt that the place was full of magic. The old theater, especially, with all of its history, seemed full of ghosts. In a good way. I remember the single theater with the balcony seating. Then it became two theaters, and then three. Thousands and thousands of people passed through those doors.
Magic.
The new theater (I still call it that, after 13 years) still has the elements of movie history. The tributes to movies long past. The clusters of themes (theater number two is dedicated to me; the music notes on the wall , if played, are from the song "Lullaby" by Billy Joel) for each theater are amazing. Theater One, Gone with the Wind, was for my grandma. Theater Three, with knights and princesses, was for Christian. The Old West theme was Luke's. The drive-in theme was complete with my dad's convertible truck and my brother's high school car. The Wizard of Oz was Shannon's.
Not to brag, but I think I got the best one. The Beatles? Hell yeah.
So when I am there, I feel like I'm marinating in that magic. I feel young again. And I wonder if others feel the same.
Movies suspend reality. Once you're in that theater, you can let go of real life and just enjoy the fantasy.
How can one not find romance in that?