My Little Beauty

I stumbled into Anna's room this morning after the words "MOMMY! I want to get UP" finally made it past my foggy sleeping mind and brought me to full consciousness. "Mommy," Anna whispered, "is today the Beauty and the Beast play?" After many days of hearing, "No, honey, not yet", Anna's face instantly lit up when she heard, "Yes! It IS today!"

After Bible class, Wee Worship, and a hurried lunch at home, we buckled back into the car and took off. Anna started firing off questions right away.

"Mama, where is Chief Jo? What is it?"
"Chief Jo is the name of the school where we will watch the play, honey."

"Where is it?"
"Not too far past the gym. We will be there soon."

"Are we there yet?"
"No. Soon, Anna."

"Is the beast going to be there?"
"Yep, someone will be playing the beast." And on and on and on....

Several times, Andrew tried to get a word in, which only made Anna raise her voice louder and declare, "Andrew! I was trying to talk!!"

We arrived just before the doors opened so that we could have our pick of seats. We walked around, "esplooooring" until the auditorium doors opened with a flourish (hitting a stunned little five or six year-old girl in the nose who was standing too close) and the seats were open for choosing. Anna's eyes took everything in as we slowly walked towards the front: the dark, still stage curtains, the chattering orchestra members, and the other children scrambling for the seats they had their eyes on.

Twenty-five minutes later, after Andrew had patiently answered a dozen more questions, the orchestra started playing. Anna was more than ready. Her eyes got wider as the lights grew dimmer. When the curtains opened, Anna gave a tiny gasp as she took in the stage set. Belle appeared, singing away, and Anna could not suppress her smile. The story unfolded, following the Disney movie somewhat closely, and Anna sat still, completely mesmerized. She clapped when Andrew clapped. She laughed when he laughed. When the little boy sitting behind her started talking, she even turned around and glared at him.

During intermission, all the little "princesses in the audience" were invited to go up on stage and parade across. Though we hadn't dressed for such an occasion, Anna was determined to join in. She bravely took off, one hand waving back at us, and the other hand tightly gripping her friend Olivia's fingers. She marched proudly across the stage, waving at the stage manager and forgetting all about looking out at the crowd. She was feeling grown up, and I was nearly in tears.

The second half of the production was better than the first (mostly due to our change in location, farther away from the loud talking boy and his rude talking parents). The singing was strong and beautiful and the characters were engaging and entertaining. When the final number ended, and the stage was cleared, Anna hopped up and said, "Let's go see the characters!!"

After a few minutes of impatient waiting, a few members of the cast reappeared, this time in their street clothes. Anna shook hands and hi-fived a few of them before we announced that it was finally time to leave. She dragged her feet a bit, but finally complied and followed us to the exit. Tim opened the door to leave, and Anna stood still. "I'm not ready," she said. "I don't want to go yet." I knelt down and explained that it was time to go and we were already running a little late. She ran back to a bench and planted herself smack in the middle of it. "I will just wait here, " she stated. I told her that she could come with me right away or be in trouble when we got to the car. She agreed to let me carry her, and cried a little on my shoulder.

When we got to the car, she started kicking and bucking against my hip, insisting that I was not going to buckle her in. I managed to get her into the carseat, but was met with a firm slap across my face when I attempted to buckle her in. I was so stunned that I just froze for a second and stared at her angry little eyes and pouting mouth, my own mouth gaping open. I told her she was not allowed to hit her mom EVER, especially in the face. She got a swat on her tush, and grumpily allowed me to buckle her in.

We backed out and were pulling onto the road when Anna declared, "I'm mad at you, Mom. I don't want to go to your home anymore. I don't want you to be my mom anymore. I am going to live with somebody else. I'm gonna live with Grandma!" Part of me wanted to laugh out loud and part of me wanted to cry. Even though logically I knew that she was exhausted and overwhelmed and was not ready to leave, her words hurt. As we drove away, I reminded her that I would always be her mom, whether she wanted me to or not.

While my daughter can be such a sweet, well-behaved little beauty, she can also quickly change into a bit of a beast herself. Fortunately, it is usually short-lived. Before long, Anna was quoting parts of the play and telling me she loved me all over again. Even though this was Anna's first theatre experience, she has been filling our lives with drama for quite some time.