It’s been awhile since I’ve gone to the movies. Life events (having a baby) and other things in life (tightening the purse strings) have taken priority and made going to the movies hard for me to do. I used to go to the movies a lot. When there was a movie I wanted to see, I went and saw it on the big screen with a bucket of over-priced popcorn in my lap. I’d arrive early so that I could choose any seat. I looked forward to the dimming of the lights and to seeing movie trailers for what’s coming soon. I’d settle into my seat filled with eager anticipation when it was time for the “feature presentation.” Sometimes I even treated myself to a double feature.

There’s something to be said for escaping things for awhile, just enjoying yourself and setting responsibilities aside. The movie theatre is a kind of sanctuary where, in the darkness, nothing is asked or expected of you and you are left alone. You can shut the world out, shove your thoughts to the side and get lost in a story that has nothing to do with you. Movie-going is a brief liberation from duties at home, from running errands, from all considerations that reside outside the movie theatre door. It’s escapism at its best because it’s simple and easy.

Going to the movie theatre is an outing, but it doesn’t have to be an occasion. There’s a sweet casualness about it. Whenever I was in the mood to see a movie, I went. I didn’t need to dress up; I just needed to get dressed. The only effort I put in was on deciding what movie to see.

I know many people who don’t find going to the movies much fun anymore, and I find that a shame. I can relate to being annoyed by the overabundance of pre-movie ads. I, too, am annoyed by patrons who take calls during a movie and by those who sit and surf on their smart phones the whole time. I get miffed by people who talk. Sometimes it can be a little uncomfortable when you’re in a packed movie theatre with people sitting on both sides taking up the entire armrest while your elbows are tucked into your sides for two hours.

Those annoyances haven’t kept me from going to the movies, the busyness of life has. Escaping for two hours inside a world of superheroes, a historical drama, an animated adventure, a touching love story or a side-splitting comedy is a welcome and necessary departure from all of the other goings-on in life, and I’ve missed the escape. I’m really going to try to get away more.