It was a cold winter evening at Pink Moss tonight.

“Mom, lets go finish watching Romancing the Stone while we exercise!” 

{Yesterday we started the old classic movie that I remember loving as a kid.  We all rotated on the treadmill, elliptical, bike, and weight set as we watched.}

“UmmmOK, if we start earlier because last night we went to bed too late and you were all ornery today.”

“OK mom!”

Everyone cleared the table, swept the floor and did the dishes so we could execute her plan.  I had  enjoyed working out with all of them the night before.  Little Jon and I have taught them to love food, we had better also teach them to love exercise!  

We all *including Handsome* raced downstairs to find out what happened with Joan Wilder, her map and the dashing younger version of Michael Douglas. It’s always interesting to me how my opinion of a movie changes when I see it as an adult.  

Monkey “Mom!  How long has it been?  I have almost walked a mile!”

“Good!  I am so proud of you!” 

Sprite was next to me on the elliptical and I was on the bike holding Handsome.  I remember loving the story of the writer that found her own romance when I was younger. The action scenes were seared into my memory and I was excited for the kids to see the stone at the end of the movie that was hidden inside of a porcelain rabbit.

Next thing I know, Jack *Michael* is laying butt naked on top of helpless Joan Wilder and it doesn’t just show the covers as I would have thought for a movie released in 1984.  

I jumped with shock and said, “SHUT YOUR EYES!!”

It was obvious I had forgotten that part and it didn’t affect me as a child, but isn’t that how all old movies are?  Goonies swears way more than I ever remember, short circuit, back to the future.  Grease is a perfect example of a movie shooting straight over my head.

The fact is you notice the most when you are the parent with the responsibility to teach.

Sprite started to laugh and shut her eyes as I waited for the scene to be over.  Monkey always listens when I ask her to shut her eyes for whatever reason.  She trusts me.  She is innocent and and sweet and obedient *most of the time*

It seemed like I was waiting forever for them to get it over with…or whatever they were planning to do in that scene.  I repeated…”Keep you eyes shut…it isn’t over yet…”

“Wait…wait…”

It all happened so fast I can’t even remember the sequence but the first thing I remember was Monkey *of course my accident prone Monkey* flying off of the treadmill and onto my stationary bike.  She quick jumped up and tried to climb back on 

and shot off the back AGAIN!

“WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!” I yelled 

 “GET OFF!”

She tried one more helpless time to mount the treadmill as it spun toward her face. 

 She was like a hamster trying to turn the wheel in the opposite way as the momentum was taking it, or someone trying to run UP the DOWN escalators like Sprite did last year and got stitches when she fell and took a chunk out of her knee 

*as I shopped forlingerie*

She turned and looked at me from the floor with a helpless look on her face and started to laugh, and then she started to cry.  All at once she was laughing and crying as I scooped her up and set Handsome down.  

“MOM, YOU SAID TO SHUT MY EYES!!”

Are you kidding me?  She had been walking with her eyes shut during the whole sex scene?  I thought she had stepped to the side and was waiting until her eyes were open to continue.  

“Monkey, you have been shutting your eyes that whole time?!”

“Well yes, you TOLD me to.”

And that was that.

It was official.

She reminded me of me, and the time my dad “told me to jump from a 32 foot ski lift“

AND I DID.