Simple Joys: Movie Night

*Reminder: Today is the last day to enter in the DaVinci Bracelet & Beads giveaway! I'll be picking the lucky winner early tomorrow morning!*

Matthew and I are lucky in that we commute together to and from work.  That means, we get 3+ hours of "us" time in a small, confined space.  During this time we talk about our day at work, plans for the evening, and just about everything else in between.  Our commuter car is very tiny and holds only two people, so it's sort of an intimate space for us.   We take turns driving so that it's fair, but we also have a fun ritual of trying to get the other person to drive for them in exchange for other favors (i.e. choice of dinner location, less driving turns for the following week, etc.)

Last week though, we either had to work late or made plans with friends after work, so we drove home separately several times.  By the time we were both home, we were too tired to do anything else besides go to sleep. 

I know it was just a few days of veering from our standard routine, but I missed him.  Thus, I made sure our schedules were clear on Friday for "movie night".

It was Matthew's turn to pick a movie, since I dragged him to see "Inception" a few weeks back.  I've seen it twice and would pay to see it again if anyone still hasn't seen it.  Seriously.  I liked the movie that much.

Well... he decided that for our "let's reconnect date" we would see,

The Expendables.

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*groan*  I really didn't think a movie about men who were hot 10+ years ago gratuitously killing other guys with machine guns would be something I'd consider an ideal "date movie". 

But boy was I wrong!  There were probably a few too many close-up shots of Mickey Rourke and Sylvester Stallone, and a couple of horribly acted monologues... but I actually enjoyed the film!  I definitely don't see it winning any Academy Awards, but the storyline kept me on the edge of my seat and the action scenes were as over the top as you could hope for. 

My favorite part of it all, however, was turning to see Matthew's reaction throughout the movie.  It's so cute watching his face light up like a little kid on Christmas morning when a building would explode or when someone was stabbed with a knife spilling their guts everywhere.  He loves that sort of stuff and I love watching his happiness.

I've learned that it's very important to make time for your relationship... even if that time is spent doing something you wouldn't normally want to do.  Sometimes you just might discover a new interest or a new appreciation for something you never would have opened your mind to otherwise...