Date Night

"It's date night tonight and you're taking Mommy to a show!" I told my 2 1/2 year old son. He had no idea what any of that meant but he was more than obliging to follow Mommy out of the house, quickly realizing that the baby was staying with Grand Bob and he would now have my undivided attention for the next two hours or more. Sesame Street recently visited Ft Hood with a song and dance performance that I am happy to report had an outstanding turnout. So often our family has ventured out to USO shows and free events for military families to find the attendance almost embarrassing to the performers. The number of toddlers and babies in attendance was staggering but we were able to meet up with bosom buddy Sydney for what would be the twosome's first auditorium style, lights out, live performance. We arrived slightly early, 5:30 for a 6pm show, to ensure good seating. The staff from the USO was delighted to present us with spinning Elmo toys, or as Julie and I quickly dubbed them "spinning nipple whippers!" The next 25 minutes were spent battling the battery operated weapons of the evening, trading children who wanted to be held by the mother that was NOT theirs, and bribing good behavior with M&M's and the world's longest game of Simon Says. FINALLY Elmo appeared! Natural light photography, in the dark, with a toddler on your lap, and a "spinning nipple whipper" doing what "spinning nipple whippers" do best, is not conducive to good photography. However, I did manage to catch a little twinkle in the eyes of our little ones as they gazed out across the stage and got their first glimpse of a seven foot tall puppet. I can't say that it was glee, but it WAS special. Elmo has tighter security than visiting diplomats; sadly, there was no meet and greet or photo op with any of the characters...