BB's Big Night Out

As Lyndsie mentioned in an earlier post, for Christmas she pre-planned a date for every month this year. The awesome thing about this little gift is that it allows us to continue to do fun things AND they have already been paid for. How thoughtful!

Our date for February was to go see the Lion King on Broadway (in Richmond) at the Landmark Theater. I was pretty excited about the trip as I've heard multiple times about the amazing costumes and staging. Although I had heard about these amazing things, seeing them in person was something else entirely. It was nothing short of astounding. I audibly gasped at several scenes because of the sheer awesomeness that was the costuming.



I could go into details about the show but I'm sure you've heard a few good things about it at this point. Instead, I'll tell an amusing story that illustrates my state of mind these days.

Act 1 went off without a hitch and we coasted into intermission rather easily. Due to our seats, the Mrs. and I found ourselves in the lobby fairly quickly so we decided to divide and conquer a bit before the crowds truly arrived. I hit the gift shop stand while Lyndsie went for the bathroom line. As I stood there looking at the options for souvenirs, and being pressured into buying more by the attendant, the crowds began pressing in. I began the exchange with the attendant thinking that Lyndsie would be back from the bathroom shortly. To that end, I kept pushing the up-selling advances of the gift shop lady away feigning the need to check with my wife. Finally, the crowd hit critical mass, a grubby little kid began pressing into my side, and I felt myself teetering on the edge of a panic attack. I made a hasty purchase and got the hell out of there.

At this point, I should mention that intermission is only 15 minutes long at this show. There was a lot of stress all around me as people ran from one place to another attempting to lock in their snacks or buy their trinkets and such. In the middle of this whirlwind, I was attempting to maintain calm. I decided to loiter around waiting for Lyndsie as she must be almost done with the bathroom process. I quickly spotted her at the front of the line...and then around the corner she went into the mysterious woman's room.

I decided I could probably stand to use the restroom myself and it would give me an excuse to get out of the chaos. I bypassed any sort of line situation (an obvious unfair advantage for men) and found myself back at my waiting post as the ushers began calling the 5 minutes to show time warning. I should also mention that the ushers, although little old men and women, were scary. There were several that looked about ready to whack people over their heads at any given moment with their little flashlights. I nervously avoided their eye contact as I waited for the Mrs. to return. Ushers began calling out new warnings every minute. No less than three ushers told me that I must return to my seat immediately because they were about to shut the door on us.

Still no Lyndsie.

At this point my anxiety was through the roof and I began to fear the worst. What if she hadn't heard the warning? What if she was locked in a stall and something was wrong? What if she needed help?

I was about 5 seconds away from tearing into the woman's restroom when I overheard an usher say that the line in the restroom was still ridiculously long. Whooo! Thank goodness. She must just be stuck in the line.

Another usher, meaner than all the rest, told me I must return to my seat immediately.

I became paralyzed with indecision. On the one hand, I wanted to see the opening of the next act. On the other, I wanted Lyndsie to see the opening too and I wanted to share the experience with her. I did what any stubborn, worried soon-to-be father who is feeling protective would do: I stood in the middle of the doorway silently protesting the usher's cruel desire to shut my wife out of the show.

5 seconds into my silent protest, Lyndsie came running out of the bathroom and we hurried to our seats.

Yes, I'm overly sensitive. Yes, I'm paranoid and anxious. Yes, I jump to ridiculous conclusions expecting the worst. I'm guessing this is going to get worse before it gets better as we get closer and closer to BB making a formal appearance in the world.