“Watch my show”… I’ve taken Helena to lots of shows but they sure ain’t like hers.

Mostly I think what she is saying is watch me play. That she thinks her play is worth watching, the whole “look at me” thing. This is Important Mum.

The shows happen in different locations from drums on the beach, to puppets, or her babies, and they often have different emphasis, the props, the tickets, the content or sometimes the most important thing is the title. They tend to flow on and on and often she forgets to say it’s ended because, well she’s playing and has some undivided attention.

This last show was for me, her grandpa and our cousin Tarryn who she adores. The main focus was making the tickets and the money. This time she had taken on board the idea that tickets are for a named seat. She even made the money so we could buy them…

The bulk of the show was her showing us the various characters, and there were lots, and telling us what their names were – funny rhyming pairs yet instantly forgettable for all of us which was a source of amusement. Helena did remember to refer back to the title at one point.

There are relatives of the show game, there is the exhibition game, the museum game, I’ll teach you how to game… all designed to showcase play of some kind.

All I have to do is be the audience she deserves.