Should you take a 5 1/2 year old to the ballet?

I recently had to make the decision whether I should take my daughter to the ballet. The local ballet company (state ballet? They are the only major company) was performing Cinderella. Since it is a story that the kids know I thought it might be fun for them. The oldest boy (12) was really excited, the Princess-in-training squealed, jumped and danced which I took as a yes and the middle boy wasn't sure if he wanted to go. LOL. The "Maybe" gave a huge sigh of relief when I said I didn't care if he stayed home..

I should back up a little and tell you our oldest child is involved in a dance program that is sponsored by the ballet company. This is his second year and he loves it. They practice weekly for seven months and then they have 3 days of performances. It is a huge commitment but he is dedicated. After his last practice he came home with a letter that could be exchanged for two free tickets to the Cinderella show. WHOO HOO! Two down and only one to purchase. Sound like my kind of deal. The only problem was that it was on a school night. Dh and I decided it was ok for them to be out late one night for something that we never do.

The Princess started asking what time the ballet began before breakfast. It made for a very long day. She was excited about going to pick up the tickets. She could hardly sit still and couldn't stop talking during homework time. Of course the day was crazy and I was doing 12 things up until the minute we had to leave.

I finally gave the green light to get dressed (she had a dress picked out for days). Pass the bad mommy award- I forgot to pick up tights to match the dress. We picked out a new dress with very little drama. The Princess talked 100 miles a minutes making the 20 minute drive seem like four hours. We parked and walked to the theater. we found our seats and then the questions began.

Is this the real Cinderella or another Cinderella?
When are they going to start?
Why aren't they playing music? which was quickly followed by Why are they playing music?
When are they going to dance?

Then the show started. The questions continued. Why is he doing this? Why is she doing that? I think her brother and I told her no less than seven zillion times to shhh.

It was a long show but she held out. Toward the end she was getting tired and wanted to know how much longer it was going to last. Finally it was over.

The walk to the parking garage was filled with giggles, recaps of the favorite parts, and more questions. All was going great until we hit the elevator.

Who would think that the elevator would cause such drama? The first problem was a line to get on the elevator. The door to the stairs was locked (who was the idiot in charge of that?) so we had no choice but to wait. The whining started. She was tired. She needed a drink. She was hungry. She was tired. Finally we got on the elevator. And we got off. And we looked for the car and it was no where to be found (Nothing looked familiar either). We got back on the elevator and got off on the next floor. Or at least MOST of us got off on the next floor. The Princess was too busy pushing buttons to notice that the rest of her family was no longer in the elevator. Then the doors closed and she started yelling. Trying not to laugh (again, bad mom) I yelled for her to stay put and she would come back down to me.

The car returned quickly but it was empty. Big brother to the rescue! He hopped on the elevator and said he would go look for her while I waited. The Princess was in tears at the next stop. They had to go all the way up to top before coming back down and she tried to get off AGAIN. By the time she got back to me hysteria had hit the Princess full force. She looked so cute with her hair done, her fancy coat, her dress shoes and tears rolling down her cheeks. Then the fury was released. How dare I let her get lost like that!!! Never mind that she wasn't paying attention and refused to hold my hand. The entire incident lasted two minutes at the most. Though I suspect I will hear about it until I find something else to torture her with.

The drive home was filled with more tears. I think they were fueled more by exhaustion than actual anger or fear. We finally made it home. Not a peep in getting ready for bed and out like a light before you could say good night.

So, again I ask should you take a 5 1/2 year old to the ballet? Yes, don't hesitate to buy the tickets. If she is your Princess it will be worth every second you spend with her.