Date Night With a Little Lady

As my Beloved is reaching the end of her pregnancy and we await the arrival of daughter number two, we thought it wise to allow our little Jewel some one on one time with me. We want her to always remember and hold fast to the fact that she is dearly beloved and special and nothing could ever diminish these realities.

My plan was to surprise her at the door when I arrived home and then escort her to a fine dining experience. A few highlights:

• My Jewel is thrilled that she is now allowed to wear "heels." Of course this means that she now walks on wobbly ankles and constantly complains about the tension and pressure the shoes put on her feet. Even so...heels!
• As we embarked on our journey, I told her that she looked quite lovely. She turned to me and with an inquisitive look on her face, asked me, "Do you think I look hot?" I could only stare, wide-eyed.
• I took her to one of our favorite spots, a place where we discovered that our Jewel actually likes mussels. Of all the things kids love to eat - mac & cheese, potato chips, hot dogs, and pizza... I would have guessed that mussels would have appeared on a ranking list somewhere between foie gras and liver. And yet, there is something about the joy of opening up the shell and prying out the fleshy, chewy morsel that she digs. She ate almost an entire bowl by herself.
• My favorite line from her of the night: "Gonna eat my mussels! They're gonna make me strong!"
• Along with her splendid bowl of mussels, I also treated my Jewel to a special drink. The waitress brought her a Shirley Temple. She had no idea what it was, but she saw the maraschino cherries in it so she gave it a try. After a single sip, a look of wonder and amazement washed over her little face.
• We left the establishment holding some molten chocolate cake with which we would return home and share with my Beloved.

Life is a progressively accelerating algorithm. I hope there are more opportunities such as this one to set it aside and simply enjoy being a proud and loving papa for his little girl, for which she will always be.