I missed a post yesterday because I was exhausted from wrangling a 21 pound turkey for 3 days, and then I fell into a turkey coma. Dinner was fantastic.
Not only did we do our Friends Thanksgiving yesterday, but we also took Dude to see Mickey's Live Rockin' Road Show. I didn't think it was as good as the live Playhouse Disney show last year, but the boy enjoyed it.
I didn't tell him about the show. Instead, I wrote a letter to him from Mickey Mouse and put it in the mailbox. At 3:00, hubbie said, oh, that's strange, the mailman just put something in our box--on a Sunday!
We retrieved the letter. The letter told Dude that if he followed the instructions, he would get a surprise. I glued a picture of Mickey Mouse at the end of the letter and signed it, Your Pal, Mickey Mouse.
The instructions were to get in the car at 3:45 and follow the directions, which were driving directions to The Ralph (the Disneyland of hockey stadiums). When we pulled up, he totally figured out what was going on because that's where the show was last year. He was really excited to see Tigger again.
While the other kids sang and yelled and danced, Dude just sat in his seat, perfectly still. We asked, do you want to dance? and he shook his head no. I don't know if he just felt shy or if he was trying to be "good" by being quiet and still. He went to see his daddy perform about a month ago, and we go to see movies on the weekends, so he is a seasoned pro at being quiet and respectful at theaters. However, he was completely still like this last year as well, which was before we started going to any kind of movies or shows. I think that when he is amidst chaos he just needs to retreat inside and soak it all up sometimes.
But then...then...Tigger started his bouncerrific techno finale number. We asked if he would like to stand up and bounce with Tigger. He shook his head up and down really fast and we said go for it. OH. MY. GAWD. It was like he had been holding it all in. He was overcome with the spirit of Tigger and looked like he was either possessed or having a dancerrriffic seizure. It was awesome.
I've noticed that when there is music on at home, he will rarely dance just a little. He's not the kind of kid who kind of sways to the music. It's all or nothing. He's either oblivious or overtaken. Strangely enough, the one band that will always get him moving is Joy Divison. Seriously.
So, yes, I lied to my kid. I fabricated a Mickey Mouse letter. To make matters worse, I secretly hate Disney because the company is really nothing more than a marketing machine. DON'T EVEN GET ME STARTED on how pissed I was that an entire plot point of the Rockin' Road show was centered around Minnie's need for SHOES. I wanted to puke. I was so happy that I hadn't taken a little girl there, until I realized that it's also teaching little boys that all girls care about is shoes. All this, and I still bought the tickets. And it was worth it to see him bounce up and down and flail his limbs with a look of pure joy on his face. I lied to him because there is this tiny window of make-believe that will disappear someday. I wish that I could get a letter from a cartoon character and believe it. Hell, I wish I still got letters. Or sent them for that matter...
This is not the first of my lies. I also told him that thunder and lightning were caused by Thor riding his chariot through the sky, and that he threw lightning bolts down upon the earth because it was fun. Because really, if you could hurl lightning bolts, you totally would, and you know it. And I thought that the story about Thor made for a much better story than gods bowling.
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