My oldest and I have taken many a date together, and they are always very special. We didn’t really start calling them dates until around the time our youngest was born, though obviously we spent quite a bit of time together when my wife was working (we did our best to coordinate our schedules so that one of us was “home”). We found it a way of making my time with her just a little extra fun, and that way maybe she’d not notice that her baby sister was getting one-on-one time with her mom. (Sharing is still not easy!)
Earlier in the day today, I became a bit drained and was not sure what to do this afternoon while our little one went to a party with my wife. The local theater was no longer showing the Ice Age sequel, and we are short one car because somehow we let our registration lapse (okay, I went into Temporary Conspiracy Mode, screaming about how the State must have deliberately not sent us our renewal form and that the city cops swooped in just three days after the expiration date to nail me – because after all, it’s all about me, isn’t it?).
I looked up where else Ice Age 2 was playing, and when I told my daughter we were going into the city to see it, she jumped up for joy. I got ourselves together, had just enough time to get a PBJ at the bagel store to go, and hop on the express bus into lower Manhattan. We got on a very slow subway train to the Village, and it was starting to rain. We stopped into a K-Mart to buy an umbrella but the lines were hideous, so we got a cheapie on the street for half the price. She held the umbrella; I held her as we walked to the theater.
We had enough time to peruse an organic grocery store across the street (and notice a Japanese restaurant next door to it). We bought some Lara bars and a roll and found our seats in the theater. I wanted her to eat some of the roll before getting popcorn, which she did. It’s a big deal to get to eat popcorn for her, since we don’t allow it in the house yet because the little one is too young for it.
We have many books based on the movie, so we knew the story pretty well, and she pointed out quite a few differences between the written texts she’d seen and the movie on the screen. I was glad we’d read the stories because she was less afraid, just entertained. She loved the whole movie (no favorite parts – just “everything”). This is not a movie review blog, so I won’t talk about it here –besides, the pleasure of seeing a movie with my girl is most of the pleasure of seeing the movie.
After the movie we had our Japanese food – she loves tamago and masago, while I get the bento box with teriyaki chicken. We split the miso soup. After the restaurant, we dash over to catch the express bus home, nibbling on our snacks. My wife and youngest were still out, having gone to visit my in-laws, so I draw a bath and wash my big girl’s hair (and that’s a topic for another post and another day!). After we get dressed in pj’s we relax with help from our friend Harold (and of course his Purple Crayon), and eventually one of us falls asleep.
It’s still a great gift to have and to give, time. I must confess that for me it’s a little harder for me to be with the both of them, because the energy is really multiplied not added, though the day started with the three of us at the playground. I like that attention you can get and give, and I suspect for my big girl it brings up some deep-rooted memories for what it was like when our family only had three in it. I hope that should she ever read these posts she remembers dates like this and is as grateful then as I am now.