Mommy Long Legs

​The best decision I ever made was to ditch the birth control and ditch the attitude, and most of all, ditch the anxiety and insecurity that made me question my fitness for bringing a child into this uncertain world we live in, because I am honored to call Evan my son, and Michelle the daughter I gained when these two were lucky enough to find each other. 

We celebrated Mother’s Day a day early,  which meant avoiding crowds and traffic and price gouging. 

I felt a little guilty dragging my two millennials off to a dated, corny musical based on an even cornier movie starring Fred Astaire and Leslie Caron, but as Evan reminded me, “ Mother’s Day is for mothers”, which meant I got to plan the day.

The musical is spectacular -and so are its stars, Dakota and Elle. 

This is our fifth time seeing them live, and they seem to be fans of ours as much as we are of them. 

There’s nothing like getting a bear hug from an idol!

“Daddy Long Legs” is a feel good, funny, touching, old fashioned musical about a young orphan and her secret benefactor who sends her to college. The story thankfully takes place in the early 1900’s because today, it might come across a tad catfishy.

You still have a chance to see it.. but if you can’t, I strongly suggest following Dakota and Elle ( not the Hollywood siblings) and make sure to attend their next performance. Audiences compare them to Andrea Bocelli and Sarah Brightman.. but they’re  much more affordable and  convenient for people who live in the area. 

It was so satisfying to have a bona fide broadway experience in a cabaret-type theater with fifty seats, although Jim and I confessed afterward that we still struggled with some of the soprano’s higher notes. It’s due to our age.. and the fact that we’re not canines, trained to hear high pitched sounds.

The four of us then strolled around Asbury Park, walking distance from the theater, where the rain held off but the enjoyment of the quirky shops was nonstop.

I usually detest shopping, but not in LGBTQ communities, where the rainbow flags fly  proudly and the tee shirts have snarky slogans and all the pretty people walk their pretty dogs, not out of obligation,  but with pure happiness.

Dinner was extra special.. if you’re lucky enough to  dine at Asbury Park’s most popular restaurant,  Brando’s, I suggest ordering an appetizer called  “ beggars purses” ( which you might literally need to justify the cost!) but trust me, it’s worth every penny. 

Foodgasms are definitely on the table.

Dessert was a few blocks away, at delightful bakery with an old fashioned  vinyl record  store theme, and the cookie and cupcake we split were worth the side effects I’m likely to suffer from today.

The second dessert was served when we came home, when we watched our recording of “The One Percent Club” and saw first hand the jaw dropping genius of Evan and Michelle who solved complicated logic puzzles in seconds.. ones that I’d still be working on hours later if I were the only solver.

Thanks  to my wonderful husband for planning the quintessential Mother’s Day outing.. making memories more valuable  to me than the Hope Diamond.

Wishing all the women in my life a very special day today, whether they’re moms to fur babies or negligent brats or children who live miles away,  we have earned the right to enjoy our very special day.