Girls night out

Saturday night, Sophie,Ella and I went to see some live bluegrass at Barking Legs Theater in Chattanooga. Sophie has just started the fiddle, and we'd heard great things about the fiddle player, Micheal Cleveland and Flamekeeper


Originally, only Sophie and I were going to go. Ella and Max had 2 soccer games earlier in the day in which we'd had to get up earlier than we would have liked to attend. The other kids all decided they'd rather rent movies and xbox games and stay in with Daddy, who had to do some work. As Sophie and I were leaving, Ella decided she wanted to go. I really did not want to be out with her, as I knew she was tired and had not eaten much of her dinner. I was worried she would get bored, get cranky, and then we'd have to leave. She was sobbing as I was explaining all of this to her. It felt so sad, leaving her behind. I decided to give her a thorough briefing of what to expect and let her decide if she really wanted to come with us. She did.

We got there rather early and I bought the girls a drink. We were having a blast, and I was glad Ella was with us. Barking Legs is a great venue to see live music. It's really intimate. The music was phenomenal! I am always so moved by artists sharing their passions.

At intermission, we bought a cd for my dad for Christmas, and sat back down to wait for the second half. We started talking with an elderly gentleman who was sitting next to us. He was so nice! I've noticed in this community of bluegrass musicians, children are completely taken seriously and appreciated. Maybe it's all musicians, I don't know. One of the guys from the music store where we bought Sophie's fiddle also came up and said hello, asked how the fiddling was going, etc. It was just really cool. I rarely see this kind of interaction with adults and children outside of the unschooling community.

As the second half started, Ella crawled into my lap and fell asleep. This has happened maybe 3-4 times...ever, even as a baby. It was so sweet, holding that beautiful sleeping girl, sitting next to Sophie sharing the music and the experience.

We headed home, happy and content we had spent this wonderful time together. I felt very close to both my girls.