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several months ago, emma saw a commercial for Mary Poppins on Broadway. she looked up at me with total excitement (and melodrama) and said “mom! i’ve dreamed of that! i want to see it so badly!” i have looked forward to taking her for quite a while (i love Mary Poppins!), but i wanted to wait for just the right time. i wanted her to be old enough to remember the whole experience, and i wanted her to be mature enough that she could sit through the whole show (it’s almost three hours!) without getting restless, bored or sleepy.

“well…..broadway shows cost a lot of money, emma. tickets are one hundred dollars! when you’ve saved that much, we can go.” no, i wasn’t really making her buy her own ticket, but i bought myself some time, and it was cute hearing her say all summer that she was saving up. (i think she has about $10 or so.)

last week was some special promotion called Broadway Week, and tickets were BOGO (buy one, get one free). there was exactly one evening when our schedules and ticket availability converged, so i went for it. we told her that she was getting a big surprise on sunday to celebrate starting off kindergarten so well. we told her it was “fancy” and let her pick out a new outfit to wear. we let her choose the cuisine (she requested Italian, so she could have bread and olive oil). we took pictures in times square. then we walked to the theatre.

every bit of the day was a sweet memory.

as for the show…it was lovely. everyone should get to see a show with this kid; she was so joyful and genuinely awestruck throughout. she kept whispering “wow! how do they do that?!” at every set change and flying cast member. she quietly sang along during Spoonful of Sugar and Let’s Go Fly a Kite. she really thought the dancing statues were made of marble (they’re real people). she applauded so enthusiastically after every song, and as the actors took their bows said “i think we should stand up”.

as we were leaving the theatre, she said “i’m going to play the girl, Jane. who are you going to be?” i said “Mary Poppins, of couse!”

“ummm…mom, i think you’re a little old. you’d better play the mom instead.”

strike one, kid. but practically perfect in every other way.

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[the neon lights are mesmerizing...]