Harlem Globetrotters

Yesterday we took the kids to see the Harlem Globetrotters.  Going out in public with all the kids at once is pretty much the only gambling I do these days. We usually have a good time, but you never know if that will outweigh the breakdowns, escape attempts, occasional destruction of public or others' personal property or just general large amount of work it takes to get 6 people (or usually 8...since that is the capacity of the car after all) moving in the same direction.


Our tickets weren’t all together, so Bridger and Israel got to sit by themselves. Being middle school boys, they were pretty okay with that. So, they ended up directly across from us on the other side of the gym. So any supervision they had during the game was sort of via a Where’s Waldo image of them from the other side of the field house. (Not sure who that new friend in front of them is...)

  Azia loved it. She didn’t really want to go when I told her about it the first time: “Basketball is kinda boring.”  But, it was an excuse to change into a different outfit after school so she did decide to go. We did have to compromise on a yet another outfit because although the strapless sundress & high heeled flip flops did match perfectly, I had to remind her it was only springtime in Montana...not always the warmest weather, especially in the evening.  Her first attempt at compromise was just to add a scarf and hat because that makes every outfit warmer, right? Eventually we just moved on an outfit with both sleeves and shorts (that still worked with the scarf). I was thinking I won, but as I write this I realized really that just meant Azia was on to her 4th outfit of the day, so I actually probably wasn't the one who came out on top.

Once we got to the game all the tricks and strange distractions were extremely funny to a seven-year-old. And, there was dancing. Music to dance to throughout the game and breaks from the basketball specifically for dancing. She doesn’t usually get to dance at basketball games. Maybe that’s why it's typically kinda boring.

Zoran really liked it too. Initially he was a little disturbed with all the messing around. He was keeping a close eye on the scoreboard (because this is Zoran after all and it’s always about winning) and he was afraid the “other” team was going to catch up. After awhile he realized it wasn’t quite a normal game and was pretty excited about most of it--the funny parts and the cool basketball.  Or maybe he just realized the Globetrotters would surely win. Either way he was kind of annoyed that I was trying to take a picture of him during the game, so I could only do it when he wasn't paying attention. After all, this was basketball--serious business.

And then there was Lex...and my cool red shoes.  We actually moved up higher than where our tickets were so we weren't near anyone and had lots of room to move around.

Lex doesn't sit still for long periods of time.

He is however, very interested in lots of things. When he wasn't tearing pieces off his Happy Meal dragon toy to turn it into a gun he was checking out the game and the people around us. At one point he grabbed my arm and pointed to the family a few rows up behind us: 

He’s eating him.

What? I asked

He’s eating him. Right there (pointing at the man). He's eating him's baby.

A few rows behind us a young dad was holding a baby  with both hands out in front of him (sort of how you would an large taco...maybe it makes sense) and sort of bouncing and nuzzling him while watching the game & talking to his wife & older daughter. Or maybe he was trying to eat him. I guess I don't really know.

Lex tells me things like this all the time. And I hardly ever know if he’s joking. Every once in awhile I see a small smile or he laughs at the end. Other times he just walks away, leaving me baffled. After all he is only two and I don’t know how much about how the world works he really does understand. (Though it’s almost always more than I initially assume.) And he did only decide to start talking a couple months ago (all at once, in complete sentences one day) so sometimes I’m not sure if he’s really using the words he intends.

I wasn’t sure if I should be more bothered that he thought a dad would eat his baby or that it didn’t seem troubling. He just noted it, like various other things he sees and narrates about throughout the day.

As we were walking back to the car, Dev asked Israel & Bridger and then Azia and then Zoran each if the liked the game. They all did and each had a favorite part to share. Everyone was quiet the last few yards before we got to the car and then Lex says,

“I liked it!”

Dev apologized for not asking his opinion. Lex also prefers not to be left out.