MAMMA MIA!

At our house, we LOVE to watch movies.  Mr. Analytical and I consider ourselves "hip, informed, and altogether reasonable" parents where "parental guidance"is concerned...you know, "Wonder Twin Powers Activate!  Form of...The Most Awesome yet reasonably Restrictive Parents in the World!"

That said, apparently the Powers only work when the Twins are together...or at least the powers of good judgement!  After an afternoon in town and leaving the kids home with, yes, Mr. Analytical, I come home to find my sweet Little and my precious Mr. Analytical both dancing and doing karaoke to the movie Mamma Mia!  While it was a sight to behold, and I did enjoy their show, thoughts of moms, dads, and movie content began to tumble like Sugar Plums through my mind.

You see, Mamma Mia is a musical--loosely based on the fantastical musical stylings of none other than the awesome ABBA--about the wedding of a 20 year old girl who's grown up living with her single mom and not knowing who her dad is.  Sounds pretty harmless, huh?  Kind of fun and chick-flicky...but, the 20 year old has found her mom's diary in an effort to find out who her father is.
**Sidenote--it's really not a good idea to read other people's diaries...case in point, you, too, could discover that your mom was with 3 men around the time of your conception and doesn't have any idea which of the 3 is your dad!**

Moving on, the young girl invites all 3 men to her wedding so that she can figure out which one is her dad, it creates havoc, and, in the end, all who should be married are and all who shouldn't aren't.  **OOOH!  Another sidenote--sorry if I spoiled the movie/musical for you!**

So now, my sweet and innocent (haha) Little realizes that some moms are moms before they get married, or even IF they get married at all.  And, while we Wonder Twins don't really realize that this information has been noticed, absorbed, and will eventually be assimilated at a later time--appropriately, I might add--  Little is most definitely formulating her opinions about having children and marriage as we sing and dance.

Jump ahead about 7 weeks, and to a totally different location, to a shopping trip Little and I have taken to David's Bridal in order to size and order her attire for her debut as the Flower Girl in her aunt's possible wedding.  Keep in mind that when you take a 5 year old little girl--who believes herself to be a princess--into a shop filled with "princess" dresses, she's going to have her own opinions about which dress she should have, bride-be-darned!

As luck would have it, the dress chosen by her aunt is NOT the dress of Little's dreams!  Go figure!  We are now leaving David's Bridal in a snit--both of us--because of the ghastly nerve of the bride choosing Little's ensemble and me having a mild case of "feelings" regarding her insistence on choosing her own dress.  As we walk to the car, in a huff Little says, "When I get married, I'm picking out my own kids' clothes!"  I'll take a moment to pause here and ask, "Does anyone see anything in this statement that might not be quite to her Wonder Twin parents' liking?  Anyone?  Anything?"  Well, at the risk of being politically incorrect--and if you know me, you know I don't give a rat's tail about being engaged in politics--the whole phrase was SO wrong!

To Little I respond, "Uh, no you won't."  She says, "Yes I will!"  Adamantly I respond, "NO.  You won't!  You won't HAVE kids before you get married!  You'll get married first!"  Calmly, quietly, and matter-of-factly, she states, "Well.  Some people do.  Sophie's mom in Mamma Mia did and you like that movie.  You even have those songs on your iPod.  So, we'll see."

All I can think at this time is, I now know what an aneurism feels like!  Wonder Twin Powers, Activate!  Form of..........VALIUM!

The Moral:  While you, too, might think you live with "Left Brain," remember that music, movies and dancing combine "parts" in a "logical sequence" in order to create a "rational" pattern of groovy stories and tunes that are irresistible and CAN lead one astray!  LEAVE A LIST OF DO's & DON'Ts!