One-on-One Time

Today our family of four split up into two teams: Daddy and Amanda... & Mama and Eva.

Dave bought tickets for a special "Star Wars: In Concert" show in Boston and was very excited to be taking Amanda. Amanda has seen bits and pieces of Star Wars with Daddy, and absolutely LOVES the music. And actually, she's pretty fond of the movies too... as long as Princess Leia or Yoda appear. The battle scenes are still a bit frightening for her, although I have a hunch that it's actually the music that is too scary. Either way, she was really looking forward to this special time with Daddy.

According to an article in this week's Eagle-Tribune, the show sounds really entertaining!


Now, for the first time, fans of the sci-fi saga can see the best of the Star Wars movies, combined with the best of Williams' music from those films as part of the new "Star Wars: In Concert" tour, which makes stops in Boston and Manchester, N.H., this week.

The production features a full symphony orchestra and choir, accompanied by specially edited footage from the films, all displayed on a $4 million, three-story-tall, high-definition LED super-screen — the largest ever put on tour, according to Perloff.

The live music and film elements are synchronized in order to create a full, multimedia, one-of-a-kind Star Wars experience.

Accompanying the concert is an exclusive exhibit of Star Wars costumes, props, artifacts, production artwork and specially created behind-the-scenes videos from the Lucasfilm Archives.

Before the anticipated show, Daddy and Amanda made a stop at Uncle Jason and Auntie Angelina's new apartment, and Amanda kept talking about how she was going to see the "scary elevator." (Supposedly it's a very old elevator, the kind where you have to pull a metal gate closed before it ascends or descends.) It's funny how kids get excited by the little things.

Unfortunately this special date with Daddy caused a lot of tears for Eva. Every time Amanda brought it up, Eva cried and said over and over that she wanted to go to Star Wars too. She eventually calmed down when I told her she would be spending Special Time with me, but only after I mentioned Friendly's. (Yes, once again ice cream made everything better!)


And we had a really nice time together! After a quick stop at Target, we headed to the mall where they have coin-operated rides followed by the promised lunch at Friendly's.

The thing I have noticed most when Eva and I are alone together is how well-behaved she is! She actually listens and cooperates. When I have the two girls together, it's sometimes a different story. Ordinarily if I took the kids on the rides on the mall, Eva would not willingly come with me once the chosen ride was over. She'd want to go on again... and again. It may or may not involve tears, depending on her mood. Most likely my patience would be tested.

But not today! Once we got to the mall, I told her she could choose one ride. She chose the ice cream truck, inserted her 75 cents and enjoyed the short ride. When it was over, she got up and crawled out of the truck before I even had a chance to say anything. She then took my hand and we walked to Friendly's without a single argument.

At the restaurant, she was a perfect angel and colored quietly while we waited for our hot dog and chicken fingers. A woman who was dining alone at the next table even went out of her way to compliment me on Eva's good behavior, saying it was rare to witness a 2 year old who had such good restaurant manners. Of course, that made my day!

After Eva and I had each finished our meals (and ice cream sundaes!), we walked hand in hand to the car. Halfway there, Eva said,"I'm tired, Mama. I want to take a nap in my cozy bed." Ah, music to my ears!!

I'm thinking we should schedule time like this with the kids every now and then. Family time is always great, but there's something special about the one-on-one intereaction. It's good for them, it's good for us and it really allows us to see a different side of our daughters.

Actually, we WILL have another opportunity for this next month when Amanda and I attend "The Nutcracker" at the Duxbury Performing Arts Center. I haven't told her about it yet but I'm sure she'll be thrilled. I reserved seats near the orchestra pit so the combination of music and ballerinas should be right up her alley.

We'll see how it compares to Princess Leia...