The Medicine of Consistency

Being naturally inclined toward routine and ritual, I find myself to be quite the fan of consistency. Since Jenna and I got home from China and she went and got herself a big ass flat screen TV and set up a special movie room, we have been having Movie Nights on Wednesdays. We didn't even really set out to make it a routine, but because of my inclinations, it has evolved that way. Every Wednesday I call her up and say, "Hey Jennatrix, what's up?" and She says, "Hey Danatrix, what's up with you today?" Then we tell each other the mundane things that we are doing. Drinking tea. Sitting in a red chair. Looking at the dog. Trying to stay busy. Being lazy. This and that. Then I say, "Well, I was wondering if you want me to come over tonight and have a movie night?" and she says, "Sure Dana, why the hell not?" Then she informs me that she would like me to bring a movie of my choice (usually a comedy) and we make a time (usually 7:00).
At 7:00 or thereabouts I show up at her house, with a movie, which she approves of, then without much ado, we settle in to the cozy movie room and fire it up. Jenna usually shuts the door, and sometimes Joey the dog gets to stay in with us. We watch the movie and I knit. I usually drink a hot toddy and Jenna has a smoothie. I always offer her a beer, and she usually says "No, but thank you anyways." We take lots of breaks in the movie to go to the bathroom, talk, and such, and usually it is over at 9:30.
We have done about 6 or 8 movie nights since China. The consistency of our little routine is noteworthy. But I think really important. The consistency (and even repetition) provides us a comfortable and familiar 3-d canvas within which we can make jokes, express our opinions, tease each other, laugh, and connect. I have experienced many surprising little moments during movie nights where I realized I was getting to know my sister better. A candid comment. An extrordinarily witty joke. An offhand remark. A question. It makes me realize that it is through the hum drum daily grind that life is most often revealed. If I can stay aware and alert through my routine, I can learn what is going on through the subtle gems that are hidden within the ordinary.
I am sure that our Movie Night ritual will run its course. I will not live 2 blocks away from my sister forever, and when I move out to the land, I will probably not be in Hot Springs available for a movie every Wednesday. But hopefully we will settle into a new consistency. A new routine that will be one of many steady, reliable stages which we can live out our tedious yet slowly evolving stories as sisters.




Some movies viewed by the Nagle sisters:
Legend (unicorn flick)
Barber Shop (hair cutting flick)
How She Move (Dance flick)
Harold and Maude (young man old lady romance flick)
A Good Year (Russell Crow in France)
Some Jack Nicholson romantic comedy whose name I forget

Some of our favorite movies:
Dirty Dancing
Karate Kid
Shrek