Everybody probably only thinks I write only about the good stuff. But the truth is, parenthood is truly unpredictable and not everything is always a bed of roses. I don't have much photos for this because...my hands were so occupied (with the carrying of my toddler).
The day started pretty bad because my child wanted to take the public transport instead of cabbing down. We ended up being around 5 minutes late (not too bad) and by now I am actually quite chill when it comes to punctuality with my toddler. In fact, we weren't the latest either with quite a bit of family coming in after us.
Sadly, my toddler was absolutely frightened by the dark theatre. We did try going in but he would fuss non-stop. And me, being afraid of being judged and boo-ed, acceded to his whims. We ended up watching the first half of the show through the intermission screen outside.
The staff at Victoria Theatre was really kind. When I voiced my concerns, her words stuck me deeply: This is a children's production. Of course, it will be constantly interrupted by the needs of the kids. She gave lots of encouragement and even got me a plastic chair to sit outside. Eventually, I did brace myself and went in again. My kid still fussed intermittently but honestly no parent shooed me out.
I know many of you must be thinking "what a waste of money". I am sharing this story because I wanted to say the waste was not the money but the experience. The acoustic of a live show would be so much more animated and engaging than staring on the screen, which he could have done any day. And the production - Stick Man was actually insanely good even from outside. Sigh.
Also just to encourage other parents who have gone through "waste" like me, don't be dishearten. We must remember that a child doesn't necessarily have to react positively to every experience. In fact, my son humming to the tune later at night and chatted to me about the plot. I guess actually he enjoyed it, he just wasn't used to the dark. So we will be trying again because I am quite a fan of the arts and other parents have assured me that it does get better with time. :)
