It really is a beautiful bike and he loves it, and it feels good on his traditionally achy hands and wrists which is most important. And so, he headed off on a ride with his moto-friends for the weekend. He got up at the crack of dawn and left me to sleep in. See you on Sunday, Honey!
Let's talk about my hair for a moment. I've always wanted hair and bangs that look like Rebecca's (aka Girl's Gone Child) or like Sarah's (aka Whoorl). This is about as close as I'm gonna get probably.
I'll take it. (Photo courtesy of Mac Photo Booth application)
So, after my last Zona Rosa burrito of Staycay (hey, I had to get last-minute presents for the boys and why not from Giant Robot?), I headed down to Monterey County to hang with my BFF and her peeps. I stopped in first at her theater, had a donut while she wrapped up rehearsal with one of her new cast members and, as usual, became transfixed with the television installation/marketing display in their front window.
On the way to her house to pick up the boys, we stopped and fueled up. An unexpected but friendly little face oversaw the process.
Once at her house, I gave the boys their presents and watched them play. One of the gifts was a hit, the others not so much, but it's all good. Bestie and I had a nice long convo before we had to hit the road and get Older Nephew to the theater at call time.
When BFF had to usher Older into the theater and get him set up, she asked me to entertain Younger Nephew outside. I felt a little panic-stricken, to be honest. Remember, I don't have quite the connection I used to have with them, and in general I always find myself struggling to find common ground with kids over the age of 4. My mind was racing, but so was Younger... around a large grassy area. I immediately reached for my phone to take pictures and then, POOF. An idea was born. I'd direct his ants-pants energy into getting good photos of him! And we'd be doing a project together! Connection!
I took several QuadCam photos with both 4- and 8-exposures, but I liked this one the best.
After making him run up and down a staircase a million times for photos, he finally came to rest at the top.
He really is the cutest, sweetest little kid. He can be both endearingly gentle and perceptive, and boyishly silly and tough, depending on where we are and his mood. Older is the exact same way, only older, and in fact is just a couple months away from 'tween' territory. My BFF has done a great job raising her boys.
Seeing Older Nephew in The Music Man was so wild! He played Winthrop, the female lead's kid brother who has a lisp and therefore doesn't talk much or engage with the world. At least, until the Music Man comes to town and brings Winthrop - and the town - to life again. Older did the lisp perfectly, and danced, and even had a whole song to himself! He sung "Gary, Indiana" and was so good. Bestie started to cry and leaned over to say, "Can you believe that's the little baby I gave birth to 10 years ago?" Which made me cry. It was so cool being there with Bestie, Younger Nephew, my nephews' father, and with Bestie's current beau and his son. It was a blended-family affair.
Can I just say that I was really surprised by The Music Man overall? I grew up with a father who was a community college music professor, and as a kid was dragged to many of the musicals the college produced. I don't really remember much detail about any one musical, and now I know why. I didn't get them. Sure, I liked most of the singing, and probably loved the costumes and dancing, but I didn't get the overall theme of each story.
Dude, The Music Man is - in the end - all about finding strength in the community! Who knew? That is such a prevalent theme in my work orbit. It's also a slice of life piece set in the midwest in 1912, and like I said: I love all things old fashioned, even when that sense of history is a complete fantasy. To top it all off, it didn't hurt that the lead male character, Harold Hill (aka the Music Man), had me at "hello". No doubt this makes me a complete theater ignoramus but for me, I tend to think of a work as a success if I fall in love with the lead characters a bit. (This actually holds true for fictional books, TV and film, too.) The guy who played Harold had a very Gene Wilder in Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory vibe, and even somewhat physically resembled that character. Something about how he played out the mischievous character of Harold made me fall for him hook, line and sinker by the end of the story (by when, of course, he redeems himself).
The other nutty thing is how many pop/cultural references come from that show. "Big trouble in River City" comes from that show. It's probably precisely because my Dad was a music professor but that was a commonly used phrase in my house growing up. My one big a-ha moment was the song "Pick-a-little, Talk-a-little". There is an episode of Sex and the City called that, and I have always taken issue with that title (it's silly, and kinda dumb!). But, now that I know where it comes from, I get it.
Unfortunately I had to say goodbye to everyone after the show and head home. It was already 11pm by the time I left, with a two hour drive home. Would you be shocked if I told you I made it in one hour, 25 minutes? By the time I got home, the last day of my Staycay had officially started...
No comments:
Post a Comment
Comments are moderated. You can disagree with me as long as it's not a flame. I'll review your comment after submittal and approve it if you play nice!