We love Sesame Street

The bears were already excited when they woke up this morning.  As T told his boss in the OR today, we had the hottest tickets in town tonight:

Tonight, Papa and MoMo treated us all to dinner and a night out to Sesame Street Live.  My goodness, did we have fun!  I am ever amazed by the way that my children are captivated by Sesame Street characters and programs.  Other TV shows are background noise by comparison.  I am also amazed by how much I enjoy watching Sesame Street with them.  Tonight was no exception.  

E-Bear waved hello and welcomed every muppet by name as they came out on stage.  He was breathless with excitement as he recognized each one that appeared.  G-Bear laughed with delight.  Both bears sang along with the songs, clapped and stomped along with the cheers, and shouted enthusiastically when the characters asked the audience questions.  They were so riveted, I think that they each blinked twice during the whole hour-and-a-half long program.  Ok, maybe they blinked three times.  

During the brief intermission, MoMo pulled Mrs. Fields cookies out of her purse for a treat and Papa couldn't resist bringing the kids up to the stage to buy an Elmo balloon.  The three of them walked back, each holding a bit of the balloon string so tightly, to be sure it didn't sail away.  I couldn't tell who was most delighted: G-Bear, E-Bear or Papa.  Just so you know, I remember him doing the same for me when I was a little bear.  

In the end, the muppets learned the fun and importance of healthy habits like getting good rest, brushing teeth, eating healthy foods ("Eating your colors"), and exercising.  For us, the wholesomeness of the evening went way beyond the moral of the story.   I am not sure if it was as the six of us were sitting in our snug booth at the restaurant before the show, or as I watched the bears run full speed across the skyway with Papa and MoMo to the ticket gate, or as I snuggled E-Bear on my lap so he could see the stage, or as we walked out of the auditorium hand in hand, but at some point--actually, at each of those points--my heart welled up with thanks for joy, excitement and family closeness that my parents and Sesame Street brought into our lives tonight.   E-Bear will talk about tonight for weeks.  T asked G-Bear what she thought of the show.  "I thought it was amazing," she replied.  Amazing is right.  Thanks to Papa, MoMo, Elmo and the whole Sesame Street gang.