May 29, 2018
It was just a few short years ago that the only kids shows I knew of were the ones I grew up with: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Mr. Rogers, Ducktales, Alvin and the Chipmunks, Mickey Mouse, Chip n Dale: Rescue Rangers.
And being that we don’t have cable I didn’t really know where to look for cartoons once Liam started watching TV. I would joke that he was going to be the only kid who knew nothing about modern day TV shows – just mom’s classic cartoons. But then I discovered the PBS app and Netflix and Hulu and YouTube. With one scroll of the “Children under 3 category” we discovered hundreds of new shows.
So at some point in recent months, a little boy I watch was watching a show called P.J Masks. I can honestly say I don’t even remember when Liam first started watching the show but it became his newest craze.
Goodbye Mickey Mouse. See you later Thomas. Hello Gecko, Owlette and Cowboy – aka PJ Masks. I can honestly say I’ve never watched an entire episode but I have determined that it’s about three children who save the daytime from bad nighttime villians. (OK I actually only know that because of going to the show!) Hence the PJ part I guess. And what kind of names for superheros are Gecko, Owlette and Cowboy? Then again, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles were named after famous artists so who am I to judge?
Anyway, I saw that these famous superheros were coming to Bozeman for a live show. I put off buying tickets for a while but a week before the show I found a Groupon. I knew it would be nose-bleed seats but it was at the college basketball coliseum where, honestly, there’s not a bad seat when I compare it to concert venues I’ve been to before. So I bought them and we headed out on a little date.
Just as I expected we were row Q….4 rows from the top. But they truly weren’t terrible. And Liam didn’t know better anyway. Better to start him far away and get closer as he gets older, right?
So we got our popcorns and drink and I explained to him for the thirty-second time that it wasn’t time for the show to start yet. Then a college kid came up and explained that they were trying to fill in seats and did we want to moved closer. So here we move, from fourth row from the top to third row floor seats! I wanted to laugh and all I could think of was “I guess sometime’s it pays to be cheap (or more politely – frugal).” In fact, we were so close that Liam didn’t like it. I ended up going back and asking for seats a bit further back. HA!
So we ended up in second row seats (just not on the floor). When it all started I could tell Liam was just in awe. He sat with his hands over his ears and his mouth open the whole time. Quite frankly, he looked scared to death. And it was sensory overload for sure – even for me. The music was super loud, the lights were bright and constantly flashing, the cast and background never stopped moving. But at intermission, he assured me he did NOT want to leave and he liked the show.
So from the two tickets I bought on Groupon, I ended up with six tickets in my possession. So much for the “start him far away and move closer as he gets older” plan I was going for!
