Poor Audrey. First the aquarium, which she didn't much like because of the big scary fish, and then the museum of natural history, where the menacing skeletons of dead dinosaurs lurked at every exhibit. Such was the case yesterday as we took her and Grace on a family outing to enjoy the summer-like March weather.
Actually, I wasn't being truthful above - the dinosaurs didn't bother her (much), it was the planetarium. You know - the dome-shaped venue where lasers and lights and pictures are projected above you in larger-than-life fashion alongside a soundtrack.
The show seemed innocuous enough - it's about a group of wacky space characters who take kids on a journey across the universe to teach them about science and astronomy. But I could tell Audrey was uneasy when we sat down. She nervously looked around the cavernous room, suddenly seeming too small for the big chair she was sitting in. People filed into the rows. Usually gregarious, Audrey didn't want to talk to the little girl behind her who was trying to say hi.
Then the lights dimmed. The music played and a cartoon spaceship appeared on the screen, zipping about. Smiling aliens danced around. And Audrey froze. She was mortified. When the spaceship flew toward us, giving the sensation it was about to careen into the audience, she shrieked in terror and jumped into my lap. I buried her head on my chest, telling her she'd get used to it.
No such luck. She looked up again and started crying. And then shaking. Time to leave. Fortunately we had picked the middle seats in the middle row so that we could be as disruptive as possible as we left. As we reached the top of the aisle the attendant smiled knowingly. "Perhaps she'd be more comfortable watching it from the top?" she asked. I turned Audrey's head around but she practically leapt for the door. "Nope, but thanks," I replied.
As we consoled Audrey my wife and I looked at each other. We had actually been looking forward to the show. And Grace, being 5 months old and all, kept twisting her head around to watch it. She probably didn't know to be scared. Innocence is bliss, I guess.
Maybe when Audrey is 3 we'll go back. She keeps on telling us that 3-year-olds are practically adults and can do anything. Maybe we'll test that at the amusement park this summer.
