Mommy Loses to Elmo

Tonight I had a date planned. Not just any regular date, a date with the most special little man in the world. Michael and I were going to take advantage of the 1 hour of alone time that we get each Tuesday while both of his sisters are in dance class. So we decided to engage in one of our favorite pasttimes (especially mine!), eating! Tummies rumbling, we headed to Moe's (happy Cinco deMayo!) Imagine our surprise to walk in to find Elmo mingling with the customers! Michael got excited and ran right up to him to say hello. I thought that would be the extent of it and we would continue our date in peace. Michael hasn't watched Sesame Street in years, and we don't have any Elmo toys or books lingering around the house. Imagine my surprise when my son proceeded to "stalk" Elmo all around the restaurant! He followed him around while I stood in line and ordered our food, and continued to do so all throughout dinner. Sure, he came back to the table intermittently to grab a bite of food, but that was about all I got. So I spent most of our special "date" alone at the table, staring at my son's half-eaten dinner. Mommy loses to Elmo. But all was not lost. After dinner, as we were driving back to the dance studio, Michael asked me "Mommy, do you think that was the real Elmo or just someone in a costume?" I said I didn't know and asked what he thought. He said "the real Elmo". I told him that I thought he was right. He then said to me "Mom, you're the best mom." Maybe I didn't lose to Elmo after all.