Go on and kiss dee girl

P and I had a date last night.  Actually, it was a double date.  And no, before you ask, we are not swingers. Yesterday morning, the kid asked me to read her a book while she was still in bed, so I complied.  I'm always happy to read to her, but I have to confess I do weep a little on the inside when she asks me to read Barbie Mariposa to her. After I finished reading the book I told the kid, "A babysitter is coming over tonight to take care of you.  Daddy and I are going on a date."

Her eyes lit up.  "Are you going to kiiiiiiiiiiiiss?"

"I don't know," I responded.  "Do you think Daddy will try to kiss me?"

She nodded.  "He might.  We are family, you know."

I suppose I should be glad we've progressed from the days when she was certain she would grow up and marry her father.  I know every little girl goes through that phase but it is a little bit oogie, if I'm being honest here.  Propriety is slowly building, I suppose.  She often asks us to look away while she is changing her clothes. Of course, I could be wrong about the propriety thing. The other night I gave her a bath and afterward she was monkeying around in her room.  While still completely naked, she laid on her back on the floor, pulled her feet up behind her head, and said, "I'll have to show Daddy that I can do this!"  I delicately suggested that she might want to wear some drawers before striking that pose for her father.

So anyway, we went on our date and had a lot of fun.  We went out to dinner and then sat at an outside bar and listened to a local musician. When we got home, it was around 10 p.m.  I checked on my sleeping daughter and leaned down to kiss her forehead.  "Good-night, baby girl," I whispered. "I love you."

Her eyes popped open.  "Did he kiss you?"  I laughed and told her to go back to sleep.

I'm starting to think she watches too many Disney moves.  Her head is filled with princes and princesses and kisses that have the power to save lives and kingdoms alike.  I climbed into my bed and turned on "Lockup" (cuz I'm classy like that).  My other half eventually wandered in, kissed me good-night and said, "Okay, I gotta finish watching Shutter Island in the other room."  I know, the romance of it brings a tear to the eye, doesn't it?  I just hope I don't get locked in any towers any time soon, because I'm pretty sure I'm S.O.L. 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

It's been a minute, but let's talk about my b*o*o*b*s

Image
I'm in the sixth grade. I'm sitting on the floor at my friend Sharon's house. Rachel is there, too. My well-meaning friends turn to me and gently let me know that I "really don't need to bother wearing a bra." They aren't wrong. I'm wearing one, but the situation doesn't particularly warrant it.  Two years later, I found myself sporting a C cup. My mom, a talented seamstress, made me a dress at about that time. It was a slim-fitting column dress with a matching jacket, as I recall. The white fabric had large polka dots; we jokingly called it the Wonder Bread dress. My mom took my measurements. 36-24-36 At some point in history, those numbers were considered "perfect measurements" for a woman. This was 1984; I'd like to think the world as a whole is less concerned about such things these days. I'm confident my daughter has no earthly idea what her measurements are. She just knows she's cute.  Growing up with a fun array of medi...
Read more

On Being Patriotic

The list of adjectives I assign to myself is pretty long: clumsy, organized, competent, uptight, etc. One that might surprise you: patriotic. I fully understand what it means to be an American and am darned happy about living here. But, I have a beef (that part won't surprise you). I've grown tired of certain segments of the population thinking that they've cornered the market on patriotism or that they can dictate precisely how the rest of us express ourselves when it comes to our shared country and flag. Sometimes it seems like the Toby-Keith-boot-in-yer-ass brand of patriotism drowns out the rest of us. For the record, I don't believe that patriotism requires a love of NASCAR, a disdain for immigrants, a Republican voting record, or a preference for country music. Nor does it require adherence to a specific religion. I've seen Facebook posts from some of my friends and acquaintances that call for all of us to return to the "Christian principles on which ...
Read more

14 Weeks

Image
My baby is leaving me in 14 weeks.  She and I started touring colleges in May of 2022. When I applied to colleges back in 1988, I was an English major so there were no auditions. Colleges basically just said, "Sounds good. Come on in." I was the first person in my immediate family to go to college and as a whole, I don't think we understood the importance of campus visits and such. I ended up being fairly miserable that first year until I transferred to a school closer to home. For my daughter, I wanted to make sure she had an opportunity to see lots of college campuses so that she had the best shot at figuring out what she wants out of the college experience. I wanted her to look at elements like campus size and location, diversity, activities, distance from home, and distance from the nearest "big city" (since performers often head to larger cities with active theatre scenes after college).  Last summer, we began the daunting process known as "getting int...
Read more