Chick Flick Night!

by MEHREEN KRUEGER
(Tigard, Oregon)

There are moments in life that make me stop and think about the beauty of life. It is those times when I stop in my tracks and say to myself-this is what my existence is all about! Too often I do not take the time to take it all in. As I reflect on those events, I recall the times I have spent with my daughters, Ashley and Lauren.

These two girls of mine have brought me so much joy. Don’t misunderstand me, not every minute was a bed of roses. We had some thorns along the way, just like any family. Those thorns also made our relationship stronger. My girls are grown women now, but one of my favorite memories is our Chick-Flick Night when they were younger.

Ashley was 8 and Lauren was 3 when this tradition began. Dad was out of town so we decided to have a Chick Flick Night. Ashley and I planned the event. We would go shopping for junk food and matching pajamas, perform a show in the playroom, give each other makeovers and settle on the couch eating and watching Girls Just Want to Have Fun. Lauren listened to our plan and knew something fun was about to happen.

We drove to Target the radio was playing full blast; we were dancing in our seats and singing as we pulled into the parking space. As we pushed the cart down the snack aisle I told the girls, “ Go ahead and get whatever you want to eat.” They looked at me in disbelief. I am sure they were wondering …who is this person and what have they done with my mother? You see this was not like me at all; I monitored their sugar intake. Today was an exception. Ashley reached for the white chocolate covered Oreos and looked at me again to make sure it was ok. I nodded my head yes and she smiled and placed them into the cart. Lauren did not hesitate to put in some popsicles and popcorn and ginger ale. Next we went to get our matching pajamas we settled for pink and white flannel ones. The sales clerk rang our items and asked the girls if we were having a slumber party. Both girls responded, PARTY!

When we arrived home we immediately got into our pajamas. Ashley and Lauren went downstairs to the playroom to practice their routine to Madonna’s Song –Vogue-. I was not to go down until they were ready. After a half hour I was summoned to come down stairs and watch the show. The lights were dimmed and the music began….

Strike a pose
Strike a pose
Vogue, vogue, vogue
Vogue, vogue, vogue
Look around everywhere you turn is heartache
It's everywhere that you go (look around)
You try everything you can to escape
The pain of life that you know (life that you know)….

There on the dance floor were my girls singing and acting out motions. At the end they took their bow and I applauded and joined them for one more chorus of VOGUE! We decided to vogue our way up the stairs and proceeded for the next part of our evening.

Smiles on our faces we plopped ourselves on the couch and unwrapped all our treats and put them on fancy china. We drank our ginger ale out of the fancy wine glasses usually reserved for the holidays. During this time we also managed to get out our beauty supplies. After awhile we were all gussied up. Hair in updos with several barrettes as well as pink nails and lips to match. We decided it was time to watch our Chick Flick.

Girls Just Want to Have Fun was one of my favorites so it also became theirs. We laughed, cried, danced and sang through the movie. Lauren fell asleep, but she almost made it to the end! Ashley and I stayed up to watch the end and she decided it was time for bed. Even though I had told them there was no bedtime tonight. For some reason they just did not think that this was right! As I put the girls to bed Ashley thanked me for such an awesome night and Lauren gave me a sweet smile as I kissed her goodnight.

This is one of my favorite memories of the girls growing up. It was a time when I felt completely satisfied and grateful for having these two loves of my life.

The girls are grown now but we often talk about our first Chick Flick Night. We still have a similar evening when the girls are both home. We curl up on the couch and watch a romantic comedy eating chips and chocolate. The only difference is that their dad joins in on the festivities!