As a kid, my parents exposed me to many different mediums of entertainment. We attended sports events, concerts, movies, the icecapades or whatever you call Disney on Ice and my personal favorite, the theater.
With my mom, sometimes my dad, other times my nana and as I got older some of my friends, we would head to the Des Moines Civic Center to take in shows including the “Fiddler on the Roof,” “State Fair,” “Miss Saigon,” “Wicked,” “Beauty and the Beast” and our favorite, “The Phantom of the Opera, “which we have seen twice.
To get ready for the theater, I would wear my fanciest dress with shiny shoes, curled hair and big ol’ bow. At least when I was younger. As I got older my dress changed a bit but my enthusiasm for the stage shows has not.
When thinking about having kids of my own, I always hoped to carry on the tradition of attending the theater. I know most of the shows are for an older crowd than my pre-schooler and kindergartener, so when I saw “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer” was making a one night appearance I knew it would be the perfect opportunity for the girls first theater experience.
Like with most events my children are going to attend, my thoughts turned to what they would be wearing. Most of our “fancy” dresses were for summer time and a bit small since they keep growing like weeds. That meant a shopping trip was in order, and I wasn’t at all sad about it.
When I had one girl, who until the moment she made her grand appearance I thought would be a boy, I knew my shopping dreams had come true. After finding out our second child was also a girl, it was like a light shined down on me and my love of dressing my little girlies.
Since the next couple of weeks are pretty crazy busy with Thanksgiving, work, football and family time, I didn’t think I would have a good opportunity to shop before the show. As luck would have it, though, I had to make a trip to my favorite store and in turn found everything I needed to make my girls theater ready.
I picked out a new dress for each kiddo along with matching tights and furry boots. To complete the ensemble, I got them each a new, not real of course, fur overcoat. I just can’t wait to get them all dressed up.
Along with the thrill of dressing my kids, I am also excited to share this experience with my mom. It was always so fun to go to the theater with my mom as a kid, one of our special events. I hope my kids feel the same and this is the continuation of an enjoyable family tradition.
Contact Jamee A. Pierson
at jpierson@newtondailynews.com