A dream realized

I've been attending Mr. Stinky Feet concerts on a regular basis since WCK was about a year old. Every concert follows the same basic format. Twice during each show, Mr. Stinky Feet goes out into the audience and hands out little paper feet to a bunch of kids. If you receive a foot, you get to come up to the stage (or to the front of the library or gym or wherever we are) and play a little tambourine in his "band" during one song. In order to receive a coveted foot, you must be sitting quietly on your bottom and raising your hand.

It's been my lifelong dream (or at least my two-and-a-half-year dream) to get WCK into the Stinky Feet Band. I'm not sure why, since I would never, ever want to perform on stage myself. In fact, Jay and I both share the same great fear: That someday, without any warning, we'll get pulled out of an audience and forced on to a stage. This is why Jay will not attend Renaissance Festivals, because you just never know. I figured WCK was genetically doomed.

Following family tradition, WCK had no interest whatsoever in joining the Stinky Feet Band -- until last summer, that is. Suddenly, she really wanted to get into the band. I wanted her to get into the band. We both wanted it so much we could taste it. It was absolutely painful, then, when Mr. Stinky Feet would pass us by time and time again, even though WCK was clearly doing a great job of sitting on her bottom and raising her hand. Whenever the subject of a Mr. Stinky Feet concert would come up, she'd tell everyone, "Mr. Stinky Feet didn't pick me to be in the band." It was a very sad subject around our house.

And then. It was Friday night. We sat patiently in the audience of a Mr. Stinky Feet concert. WCK raised her hand. Mr. Stinky Feet raced out into the crowd, just a blur in a Hawaiian shirt. When the dust cleared, we looked down.

WCK had a paper foot in her lap.

We looked at it in wonder. She was Charlie Bucket with a Golden Ticket. Wide-eyed, WCK walked slowly toward the stage, clutching her little paper foot. It took her quite a while for her to get to the stage, but once she got there she did an excellent job with her tambourine and never once got stage fright. Mr. Stinky Feet sang "Buggy Hop." I stood off to the side and took about 100 photos and a video.

When she wins her first Tony Award, I'll post that video on YouTube.