The Feeling of Home

I was "stuck" in my room all day today, albeit by choice really, and felt that I should maybe get out and do something fun to relax my mind. So I texted Sally to see if she'd be interested in seeing a movie with me. Thankfully, she was available. So by 6:15pm I was on a bus headed for the Garden City Shopping Centre to meet up with Sally to see 'Definitely, Maybe'.

We grabbed some soda and "lollies" and took our seats. The lights dimmed and the movie began.

Truth be told, I actually really enjoyed the movie. It's everything I was expecting and everything I really wanted to see at that given time. Cliche, romantic, happy, mind-numbing entertainment where I didn't have to think, and I could just let myself go and take on the lives of others for a time just short of 2 hours.

And you know what... it's a funny thing...
when the movie is playing and I'm swept up into the lives of these other people, I completely forget how far away from home I am, how much I'm missing everyone. Because I am at home. The darkened theatre could be filled with the most random people, but they're all experiencing the same thing - just as everyone at home would be experiencing the same exact thing. I could very well be sitting in a theatre at home. It's all the same feeling and I get lost in it.

But the really strange feeling is when the music starts to swell, the credits begin to roll, the lights come on and I hear an Australian accent behind me and all in one tiny mili-second of a moment I'm reminded how far away from home I am, and how much I'm missing everyone, and how I don't get to go back to my own room and my own bed.

It's a great escape, but it doesn't last.
But for that time - just short of 2 hours - I get the feeling of home.