A couple of weeks ago, I was able to fulfill a dream of mine to take my little girl to Broadway and see Beauty and the Beast. (Yes, I like theater. No, I am not giving up my man card.)
A little background on why I like this musical. First, it is the first Disney movie my wife and I saw together. Second, the music is very well done. Third, on my way to becoming a Christian, I read a great analogy by Max Lucado using this story to demonstrate God's grace through Christ.
I have taken my daughter to a show once a year for the past three years, and I always thought what a great date it would be to actually take her to Broadway to see a show. (She says The Big Apple is her favorite city.) There is a song called "No Matter What" that is between Belle and her father in which the theme is no matter what, they will always love each other.
Now for the date:
We had to get up early to drive to New York to have time for lunch and catch the show. I had bought the tickets months in advance and she would always ask me, "Daddy, how many more days until our date?" She was as excited as I was. The night before she had a hard time sleeping. So did I. We got up and got ready.
We both had gifts for each other that we had put together well in advance. She gave me a picture button of us, an "I Love You" pin, and a little note that said I am the best Daddy. Missy followed us around with the camera.
We had a nice quiet ride, and I showed her some of the sights as we got into the city. We had a full day planned. First stop was Toys R Us. We have told the kids about the Toys R Us in Times Square. Missy and I went there a little over a year ago and we had fun.
We rode the ferris wheel first. It was a great way to check out the rest of the store. That is where she saw Geoffry. I was surprised how excited she was. So once we got off the ferris wheel we went and got our picture taken with the big giraffe.
We wandered around the store for a little while. After the show we came back to Toys R Us to shop and visit the life size Barbie house. (Can you find her?)
We to Olive Garden for lunch. The Olive Garden in Times Square is three stories. She had a great spot to people watch. In New York that can be a full day of entertainment all by itself. She was so fascinated with the city. My favorite question during lunch was "Why are those people dressed up like the Statue of Liberty?"
After lunch was the show. We had bought her a dress for the day which was a spring dress of the lead character Belle. I had ladies stopping me on the street telling me how cute she looked. We got into the show, bought a couple of souvenirs and went to our seats. She was so impressed with the show. There were a couple of stage tricks - at times that she would ask me, "How'd they do that?" It is great to watch the show through the eyes of a child because they still have a sense of wonder. I must admit, I teared up a couple of times over the moment. At the end of the show we went outside where she was able to get Belle's autograph. Belle was played by one of the characters from the show "That's So Raven" that she likes to watch.
We wandered around Times Square a little more until she had to go to the bathroom. Now here was the dilemma. A man in the middle of Times Square with a little girl who has to go to the bathroom. We stopped in a couple of places but they did not have a bathroom. We stopped in McDonald's. She went into the girls bathroom after standing in line and came out crying. The stall door wouldn't shut so she couldn't go. At this point I was really thinking I was going to have a wet little girl. We went a couple more blocks back to Toys R Us. I thought I was at a sporting event the women's line was so long.
Now here is where it is great to be a dad alone with a little girl. Women help you out. As they came out they gave me a status update. One let her go before her so she could get in faster. She came out just fine. So we finished the day playing and shopping at Toys R Us and eating at McDonald's.
We walked back to the car and began our drive home. She was so tired that she fell a sleep in the car right away. After about an hour she woke up thinking we had been driving long enough to be home. We still had enough time that she watched Beauty and the Beast in the car. She went back to sleep just in time for me to have to carry her in. I love doing that and I know she knows it. She's starting to get heavier but she will never be to big for me to carry.
In the end, it was worth it. Her little note is one that I will probably keep all my life.
