One coffee—hold the skirt! May 22, 2008

I’m feeling a little sheltered out here in the glamorous suburbs. So every once in a while it’s a good idea to get a taste of reality by submerging myself in the city. I volunteered to chaperone my son’s class to downtown Seattle to the Children’s Theatre. I am a big fan of live performance art. [ I was President of my high school Drama Club--Yeah me!] The play was adorable and the kids were excited. It was their first field trip and it was huge for them. We made it through the first half without incident and they had a brief intermission. You would think with 20+ kids that one of them would have to use the restroom. Well, I was the only one. So I battled my way to the downstairs restroom where evidently every other child [not in my sons class] ended up. I was surrounded by a sea of little women waiting there turn. As I waited patiently for my chance to “go potty” I was increasingly concerned that I wouldn’t make it back in time for the second half. As my anxiety grew, I focused intently on each stall door hoping that one would open up soon. There was one door that opened and a girl stuck her head out and looked around and then quickly retreated. She repeated this several times and I thought, how odd–she’s playing peek-a-boo with a bathroom stall door. I finally asked her if she was finished. She said no. I said are you sure. She said yes. I said do you need to use the bathroom. She said no. Well, short of pulling her out of the stall to claim my throne and relieve myself, I retreated and hoped that the game would soon end. Her mother must have caught the tail end of our intense discussion and said “honey, I said don’t leave the bathroom-not the stall”. Easy mistake. I made it back in time for the second half and I think I enjoyed it more than the kids. It was very funny and entertaining for young and old [I guess that's me] alike. After the play we found our way to a public area with tables and chairs where we proceeded to eat our lunches. While in a public place you have the awesome opportunity to engage in one of my favorite past times—PEOPLE WATCHING! There was a creepy guy video taping what seemed to be random children. Just as I was about to approach him [confront him] what seemed to be his wife and mother approached him with open arms and they moved along. There was another gentleman who placed himself in the middle of the open area and begin reenacting a flight he had recently taken on a plane of some sort. He flew from left to right dodging invisible enemy fire and then spun around and around. After doing this several times he abruptly stopped and walked away. My favorite sighting of the day had to be the older gentleman dressed in a skirt and blouse made all the prettier by his military boots and full beard. He walked down the stairs with the grace of America’s Next Top Model and across the entire open area to the Starbuck’s on the opposite side. I had almost forgotten about him until he came stomping past with his strawberry, non-fat, decaf, mocha-latte-frappucino concoction [yes, I made that up...it sounded funnier than girly-colored coffee drink] I was impressed with his confidence, shocked by his appearance and pleased to be going back to the suburbs. We may not all be normal, but my husband has never donned a skirt and he takes his coffee black.