chestnut.

tuesday nights are movie nights around here. paul works the closing shift at work, and the kids get to gather and watch one of ‘their’ movies. earlier, avery had found the movie ‘chestnut’ at the book mobile. a movie about a great dane, and being a movie about a dog, the girls were all about that. (seth, of course, had no interest in this little ‘chic’ flick.)
so the girls are about an hour or more into the movie. i am up in my create space, they are downstairs. suddenly, i hear analise just wailing, as though she got hurt. i mean she’s crying uncontrollably. from the banister i called down “what’s wrong?” at that point i realize they are all crying, big time sobbing. analise is bellowing: “chestnut is dead! chestnut is dead!” as i enter the room i see avery walking around the room bawling out the same thing. just distraught! honestly, at first i was going to laugh. they were hysterically hysterical! gracie was still in her seat, crying just the same. i asked them if they wanted me to turn the movie off. they could not answer. i’m thinking, ‘o.k. a movie for kids would not end like this, i mean, it’s not like it was old yeller or something.’ so i sit with analise in my lap, and avery practically on my lap, and we watch as chestnut suddenly comes back alive. whew! was i glad for that! i’m thinking i was going to be up all night with these girls who would be sobbing in their pillows trying to get to sleep all the while repeating ‘chestnut is dead, chestnut is dead’.
i had to laugh when it was all over. you have never seen a group of girls so beside themselves.
it all ended happily enough. of course avery let me know she was never getting that movie again. but i don’t think i will soon forget the site of those girls in mourning over chestnut the great dane.