Nutcracker

I went to see the Nutcracker today with Abby, my sister-in-law, her daughter, and my parents-in-law (Grandpa's treat!). Abby is only 2 and a half, but today she was a mature little lady going to the ballet for the first time in her life. She wore her fancy silk Christmas dress from Grandma, and wore her hair in curls, styled by her auntie. I was sure she would fall asleep and be scared by the big talking toys. But she was surprisingly very interested in what was going on. For the whole two hours! Not many adults can keep interested for that long at the ballet.

She kept asking questions about what was happening, so I had to whisper a narration to her the whole time. I tried using phrases and concepts that she would understand, so at one point I told her that the naughty boy who took the girl's toy had to get a time-out.

If you're familiar with the Nutcracker, the first act is all about a Christmas party where the children receive presents from under the Christmas tree. There is a lot going on onstage, with people dancing, children playing, and general merrymaking going on... It's hard to just focus on one thing that is happening. However, Abby decided to focus on the Boy Who Got Time Out. In fact, she became fixated on it, constantly asking questions about the time-out. Maybe because she could relate to the girl whose toy was being taken away (she and her cousin Matthew have had some toy-sharing issues this past week while we're staying at his house), but whatever it was, the whole two hours was dotted with questions about the brief time-out session that the naughty boy had in Act 1 Scene 1.

Abby (whispering furiously): Mommy, is he all DONE with time OUT?
Me: Yes, he's all done.
Abby: But Mommy, did he GET time OUT?
Me: Yes, remember he took the toy away from the girl? He was naughty so he got a time out. But it's over now. (Let's move on!!!)

A couple of minutes later, some random character comes sailing in from stage left...

Abby: Did HE go to time OUT? And now he came out?
Me (regretting telling her of this supposed time-out in order to help her understand what's going on): No Abby, that's another character. The boy in the beginning had time out. Now nobody has time out.
Abby (still whispering furiously and nodding her head in understanding): Because he already got a time out. Yeah.

These are just samples of how our conversations went throughout the performance. I can't remember verbatim what she said, and what I said, but you get the gist. I could see that her 2-year-old mind was really trying to make sense of what was happening in the scenes in terms of what she knew from her experiences. It was fascinating to watch.

Anyways, all in all, a successful outing. It was complete with a money shot of her and her cousin with their grandparents in front of a lighted Christmas tree, and a toy nutcracker bought as a memento of the experience. When the final dance was danced, and everyone started to clap, she heartily joined in the clapping. The lights came on, and she turned to me and said, "This was fun!"