A few weeks ago, I saw a notification on my Facebook page that Anodyne Coffee was hosting a free performance by Ingebrigt Håker Flaten, a jazz bassist from Norway who was in town for the OKKA Fest. Since I knew nothing about Ingebrigt or the jazz fest, I thought it would be a perfect event for my four kids!
We got to Anodyne a few minutes later than I hoped (for some reason Bay View is the Bermuda Triangle for me. I can NEVER find a decent route there, and since I’m a “just wing it” kind of gal, I don’t bother looking at a map or getting GPS).
But when we arrived, we had to share a table with four other people. One of my kids was feeling particularly shy and obstinate that day, so we almost had to call it off due to table sharing. Luckily, two super nice folks saw what was about to happen and offered up their table, saving the day.
We sat down to munch on our cookies and juice (soda? whatever you want to call San Pellegrino) and it was awesome.
Awesome because the music was nothing like my kids had ever heard. It was also out of my typical listening genres. It was disjointed, confusing, interesting, and involved lots of plucking/striking/squealing. Of course, because I’m out of my element, I’m using non technical terms. But it was SO interesting to hear and see.
It was a quiet crowd, as you had to be in order to hear some of the music. Not something many (ahem, any) people would take their kids to. The twins and Little T did a good job of listening and letting other people enjoy the performance, but my 1.5 year old didn’t really understand why she had to eat a cookie in silence for 20 minutes. There were a few “MAMA!” shouts, but other than that, they were all pretty good. Actually, three people came up to me afterwards and complimented the kids. High five, team!
We played on the sidewalk for a few minutes, before deciding we need to run off some sugar.
So we headed to Humboldt Park! It was a busy and beautiful day, and I spent most of the time pushing kids on the swings. Any other parents out there avoid parks with swings? I do. It’s nearly impossible to find four swings in a row (at least two have to be big kids swings, at least one has to be a little kid swing). So I spend my time trying to keep an eye on many people in many different parts of a playground. But it works out.
It was really fun to do something out of our element, followed up by running around outside at a beautiful park.
A. Storm
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