I Hate Steve!

Today was an interesting day.  I found out earlier in the week that Steve of Steve Songs was performing at Wolf Trap every day this week.  We had a good enough time last year that I was interested in going again, even more so when I found out the forecast for the end of the week.  Sunny and 85 degrees.  Could it be true?  It was.  I woke up this morning to cool air and thought--what a perfect day to go to Wolf Trap.  I've never been to Wolf Trap when it hasn't been sweltering.  I remember half dreading the trips there as a kid when we melted into a puddle as we ate our picnic of pb and j instead of the coveted McDonald's hamburgers we all craved (waa waa) and then trekked what seemed like forever to the little theatre in the woods where we all sat, hot and sweaty, and enjoyed everything from puppet shows to musical performances.  But today....today was finally my opportunity to enjoy Wolf Trap without all the weather drama.
There was one hitch--no one wanted to go except me.  Tara and family would have gone except that they were exhausted from an over-busy schedule.  Dave and Jes' kids have moved past Steve to the point that they barely tolerate his songs when they come on.  And my girls?  Steve can't come close to competing with their cousins.  So, I decided to pass.  So sad.  I thought about it all morning as I enjoyed the perfect blue skies and cool air free of humidity.  Filling up at the gas station, I asked Ella, "Do you like Steve?"  She said yes.  "Do you want to go see Steve?"  Another yes.  So okay, I had a real mission.  I couldn't let Ella miss Steve.  She's his biggest fan.  Surely she'd be scarred forever.  At first I thought I'd leave the other girls with Jes but as I prepared to go, I decided to take Grace and Sophie too.  It was mostly because I wanted to spend some time with them.  I miss them when the kids are thrown together to run in a pack.  Apparently, Grace and Sophie did not feel the need to spend time with me.  They refused to go, whined, yelled, cried all the way to the car and then all the way to 66.  Sophie said, "I hate Steve" enough times to almost convince me.  All of the girls napped on the 45 minute drive.  Peace.   Grace woke up happy and skipping down the hill to the theatre, Sophie woke up saying, "I hate Steve".  I'm sure I was the only mom at the show bringing her kids under such duress.  I almost had to laugh.  As we got closer to the ticket booth, I firmly shushed Sophie saying, "He might hear you".
We walked the wooded path to the theatre and scored seats in the front section.  Steve showed up minutes later in his one red shirt and it was all fun from there.  I didn't nudge Sophie when I saw her smile minutes into the first song and I didn't say "I told you so" when Grace raced down to join the other kids in "Line, Line Circle Circle".  I was simply glad that my still very small girls are young enough for Steve.
Music is one of the things I worry about as a parent.  I mentioned in my last post that Grace performed a Taylor Swift song in their show.  While I don't have a problem with the content of most teeny bopper music, it's still too mature for the younger Doyle dames.  I'd like them to sing about kid things--things like elephants playing hide and seek and bugs and rockets.  For people like me and Chris who like a lot of different music, it can be a sacrifice to limit our own consumption for the sake of our kids.  What I saw today convinced me that it's time to focus on that again.  When I played one of Steve's CDs on the ride back, I saw Sophie in the rear view mirror bopping about singing about missing bunnies.  That's just about perfect for now.

 The girl on the left with her arms up is my GG

 One of the reasons I like Steve and wanted to be in the audience supporting him is that he is so kind to the kids.  While we were in line for him to sign our CD, we heard him sing favorite songs for two different kids.  Here, he's singing his turtle song.  The little girl knew all the words.

Nary a trace of Sophie the Steve hater

Tata till next time!