“This is ridiculous. It’s crazy. I feel like I’m babysitting, except I’m not getting paid.” – The Goonies
The last time I was able to properly hang out with the Ilagan twins was in the fall of 2020, and then we were bound by six feet of distance and masks, while also relegated to the outside yard and garage. It was perfect for a treasure hunt as the seasons tipped into the cozy realm, but like all things in the age of COVID, far less than desirable.
Luckily, with the restrictions lifting, and the twins more staunchly entrenched in the mask-wearing than most adults I know, it was finally all right for us to see a movie and go to lunch together, so I picked them up from Amsterdam for an afternoon of fun.
We took the back roads, the way I used to go to oboe lessons every Wednesday for most of my high school years. I still recalled the winding path that led through Galway and on into Saratoga, and we ended up making it to Broadway without the need of GPS. A lovely lunch at The Mercantile was followed by an ice cream treat down the street, and then it was time for the movie.
The first time my brother and I saw ‘The Goonies’ was when it opened and my Dad took us on a rare father-sons excursion. We thrilled at the company and the movie on the big screen, and now I felt a similar thrill taking my niece and nephew to see it. Life moves in such circles sometimes, and I’m not sorry that it does.
As these kids grow older, I feel the passing of time, especially int he last year and a half that we have all lost because of COVID, and if I indulged in too much ice cream or M&Ms on the popcorn, I’m not sorry about that either. We have some catching up to do.
