on my way to where the air is sweet

today, all three of my boys and i went to see Sesame Street Live.
this was one of those lovely full-circle moments for me, as i recall my mom taking me to the same show, with my friend Julie and her mom, when i was anthony's age. 
in the end, i'm fairly certain that anth was most excited about the popcorn, and ben the pizza. 
the other highlight was watching a stray Elmo balloon make its way to the ceiling of the arena.
but hey...it was naptime. 
we weren't expecting too much energy from them at 2pm. 


earlier in the day, i was getting the boys through the bath time routine so they would be all fresh and shiny for the show. 
recently, benny has found it to be absolutely hilarious to maneuver himself in the tub so that i can't possibly get him into any state of clean. 
especially not with soap. 
but, call me crazy, i actually like the idea of soap. 
if i just wanted to get the kid wet, i have a perfectly good hose in the yard. 


as i was watching the clock so we would be on time, i finally told him, "ben, you HAVE to stand up so i can wash your buns. Big Bird does not want you to come see him with dirty buns."
ben shot up out of the water and let me give him a good scrub. 
with soap and everything. 
satisfied that he was actually a respectably clean version of my child, i told him that he could sit down and rinse off. 
he kept standing there for a moment. 
then, in an unusual state of calm for ben, he tilted his head and asked me in a whisper, "momma...why do Big Bird wanna see my boddom?"


um, oops. 
not exactly the point i had been trying to make. 
needless to say, it took me a minute to clarify Big Bird's intentions...