Click Clack Moo

Theatreworks (free summer theater) performed Click, Clack, Moo this year. P really, really enjoyed the book, so we joined other homeschoolers for the show. Twice :)

It was adorable and enjoyable and well done all around. P sat, mesmerized, through both performances. When E later asked P what he loved about the show, the kid replied, "Everything!" But one slight of hand interested him the most. To depict the farmer traveling from his farmhouse to his barn, the character drives his tractor behind a backdrop of hills, on which pops up a photograph of said character and tractor. This miniature (think popsickle stick shadow puppet) then moves across said hills. When the cut-out gets to the other side of the backdrop, it drops down and the farmer pops out from behind. A cute addition, thinks the adult. Meanwhile, the four year old thinks about this trick for days. Then he finally asked how the farmer shrinks when he goes behind that screen. I asked him what he thought and, though he had no thoughts on the matter, he did say he'd like to "get one of those screens, Mama." :)

After each show we wandered up to Magnolia Bakery for a cupcake (it was just a few blocks away and seemed like a sin to miss :) Unfortunately, our diets are just a tad too healthy to really enjoy such a sugar laden treat. The first trip there found the better part of both of our confections in the trash. Adored, but uneaten. The second stop, we decided just to share one and actually did it justice over the course of the afternoon...

Speaking of the course of the afternoon, after our first showing I had a stop in the Washington Square fountain planned. It was a ridiculously hot day and water seemed required. So we wandered that way after our treat, leaving us about three hours of playtime before meeting E after work. My back was extremely frustrated and I was having trouble helping P on our (relatively) short journey to the park. The Little Man was equally frustrated and unusually unwilling to walk or scoot unassisted (we hadn't brought our typical wheels, as the theater didn't allow them indoors. And for some reason, the Little Man kept twisting and turning and jumping and braking the tiny scooter he insisted I push. It was one back tweak too many and I think my sudden inability had him dumbfounded.) We chatted about it amicably at first, each explaining our needs and validating one another's limitations. But, in the end, it was a wash. He insisted he wouldn't (couldn't) walk a step (after, of course, dramatically dragging his little toes for an avenue) and I insisted his request was more than I could provide at that time.

After the dramatic dragging, I bent down to give him some love. And he just melted. I could tell he was so sad to be getting so big. That I had been able to do everything for him for his whole life and now there are times I am unable. And this broke his little heart. E hit the nail on the head when he said that P thinks he's a little grown-up - both because he sees himself as our equal and because he doesn't have to ever grow up if he's already there...

After the catharsis, he was almost ready to brainstorm again. It was slightly odd to see him so unmovable (he typically comes up with fabulously creative solutions), but perhaps it was a reaction to my strong opposition to dragging that tiny scooter anymore amidst braking and bouncing. We finally settled on him steering, solidly balanced, while I gently nudged his back forward. He was reticent to give an inch, but relented to try out our only remaining option, as we were officially stranded on the streets of the city :) When it worked well, he grinned big, only to instantly recover such silliness and remind me that this was not what he preferred. Ahh, the subtle nuances of problem solving between two people...

And these subtle nuances ate up our entire three hours :) Yup, three hours and two avenues, not a very good track record, to be sure. But there was so much more progress than just those two avenues that afternoon. Especially for me. Sometimes I still find it so difficult to just stop, and really listen to P. To quiet the nagging voice that says (or screams:) "He can walk. He's just being Difficult." Cuz, really, the kid's feet were working. But it wasn't really his feet that needed extra help, it was his heart. And pushing his feet would have hurt his heart even more. But that's a challenge for me to remember, while I sit, sweating, on a hot sidewalk. If there had been a Pinkberry to pop into, anything to distract him from the determined trench he had dug out of his disappointment, it would have been an easy afternoon of park play. But, as luck would have it, we were on two avenues of nothin'. What are the chances in NYC? This urban desert provided us with a really fertile spot to figure though, and for that I was thankful.

When we next went to Click, Clack, Moo a few weeks later, with the same dinky scooter, P seemed to instantly remembered our previous trip. We hadn't had an issue since that long afternoon, but when he saw me cart those wheels down the stoop he slumped on the stairs and said, "I can't walk today." Its amazing how an "issue" can arise from one teeny afternoon of angst, even peaceful angst :)

Fortunately, my back was back, and I merely grinned and grabbed the kid up in my arms. As he floppy fished himself at the sub stairs, I swept him up again, watching what was apparently pent up upset fade slightly away. He continued his funk until we reached the theater, when he again requested to be held. As I cuddled him close he finally relaxed, leaned away to see my face better, and grabbing it between his two hands excitedly told me "I love you, Mama!"

Nothing big, in and of itself. He says that all the time these days. And some would translate this as a four year old's pleasure at getting what he wants. But the real sentiment was there. The one that said, "So, you aren't going to desert me? You will go to the ends of the earth for me? I'm still your little boy?" Sheesh, I have to wonder, where is the trust after all of these years? :)



After the show, we played at a nearby park with some other AP kids (P's favorite friend, Abby, was there) and the Little Man had a blast. Crisis averted, apparently, until the next time the Little Man realizes he's actually growing up....