Don't I know You From Sea-same Street World?

So the wife is a little back-logged on art commissions lately and since she has trouble focusing on anything but the wee-one, we agreed to a weekly art day. This means (much to my wife's breaking heart) that the wee-one and I get out the door ASAP in the morning and come back around 5pm. I call them 4D's - Daddy-Daughter-Date-Days. So I have been trying to come up with fun things for Annie and I to do under $10.

The first time out, we went to the Ruben H. Fleet Space Center. The little one got in free and I paid $10 for myself. There were all sorts of activities and exhibits that made Annie laugh and squeal for hours.

Afterwards we headed outside to get some fresh air and enjoy the fountain. A 4-year-old approached us and said, "Hey! I saw you guys inside the museum!" Which, is sort of weird. I chalked it up to the fact that Annabelle is more memorable than most, being in a wheelchair and all. 5 minutes later an adult employee of the museum approached us and said, "I saw you guys playing blocks upstairs. Did you have fun?" I said we did and he was on his way.

"Great", I thought, "Is it not enough that we have to deal with being stared at everywhere we go but now we have to deal with being recognized by strangers?" It's like being stared at twice . . . I quickly corrected my self and thought, "Maybe I am being defensive - maybe I should lighten up."

The next week, Annie and I went to Sea World and (much to my wife's breaking artistic heart) had a great time - so the three of us went back for a family day (we pay nominal monthly fee for annual passes). While there, one of the gift shop workers approached me and said, "Hey, you were here the other day!".

"Yeah", I unenthusiastically responded.

"I wanted to apologize," the worker continued, "When you were wheeling your daughter across the playground, I wheeled a cart in front of you and you had to slow down and I am sorry . . ." I didn't even remember the encounter until he brought it up and I reassured him that it was just fine - no problem.

These are not bad encounters. These encounters are people just trying to be nice and decent folk (even if they are overcompensating) and I appreciate it. But at the same time, I feel like I should get to CHOOSE when we are "on stage" as opposed to enjoying the regular anonymity that most people enjoy.

It's not a complaint, it's just an observation. Of course, now that we have monthly passes to SW, we are trying to get our $$'s worth. I can imagine a scenario where, 6 months from now, SW employees are calling Annie by name. And that's not the end of the world, I guess.

In fact, I suppose if you ask Annabelle, it's a small price to pay for getting to getting to hang with Zoe and Elmo . . .