Family Tradition

One of the funny, coincidental, serendipitous things that Mr. Ibis learned about each other when we were dating is that we both love The Sound of Music, despite the fact that neither of us is, in general, a big fan of musicals or showtunes. When I was growing up we got to stay up late to watch The Sound of Music when it was aired on network television once a year, and Staying Up Late for us was very special. It turns out that Mr. I also watched it on TV when he was growing up and had equally fond memories of the film. So I have mentioned a few times over the years that we should start a tradition of watching that movies with our kids someday.

This weekend Mr. I offered to run out and pick up dinner for us on Saturday night and he came with dinner, ice cream, AND The Sound of Music - a DVD copy of our very own. I was touched and excited, and though I wasn't sure I actually had the attention span to sit through a three hour movie, there is something about that movie that just sucks you in - I was riveted to every scene.

It was during "Do-Re-Mi" that I was overcome by the urge to cry. My eyes welled up and I held back my tears, but I could feel a huge, gutteral sob just sitting in my chest threatening to burst out. Probably the happiest song in the entire movie and I felt like bawling - I couldn't figure out what was wrong with me. It was a completely incoherent emotion, an involuntary reaction almost like laughing when you're tickled. I felt like such a weirdo that I just kept it to myself.

And then during the next music number - where the children were singing "The Hills Are Alive" for the Baroness and their father hears their voices for the first time - Mr. Ibis blurted out, "these songs make me want to cry!" I cracked up laughing and confessed that I was barely holding it together myself. We laughed and laughed at our hormonal selves and our weepy mushy sentimental emotional reaction to Rodgers & Hammerstein tunes.

Thus a family tradition was born: we decided that every year on the weekend after Thanksgiving we will watch The Sound of Music together and Miles can laugh at his dorky parents as they sniffle through "The Lonely Goatherd."