Thursday, January 21, 2010

She’s Not Too Cool to Stuff a Little Bunny in Her Pocket


I wrote this for my daughter in August of 2007.

I had my daughter this weekend and things were looking pretty boring for her. Her and Gramy usually go do girl stuff on Saturday afternoons, but this weekend was different. Gramy and Grampy were moving their bedroom downstairs, all day. It was getting to the latter part of Saturday afternoon, and I was much looking forward to time with my buds at the studio. But then I got to thinking, I've got to beat her boredom and save the day! The guys will miss me, sure, but they will understand.

I've been telling her all summer that I'd take her to see, Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer (she liked the first one because it had a girl in it), but I never had money or we had other plans like a wedding and such. Saturday, I said, "Let's go!". She lit up a little bit. That was good. Then I checked the showings and times again and did some thinkin'. I asked her, "Have you seen, Nancy Drew, yet?". She hadn't. Then I asked, how about we do something crazy? Lets go see Nancy Drew, grab some McDonald's for dinner, and then go watch Fantastic Four? She was all over it! Daddy did good!

Nancy Drew was pretty good, I admit. It was fun, so it got the job done. Shae and I BOTH could have done without the fat lady sitting behind us, blirting out, "Oh, Lord!", about every 10 minutes or so, though. Shut up, already! Would you like a Hawaiian Punch?!

McDonald's was good. You can never go wrong with McDonald's. Shae got a little stuffed bunny from Build-a-Bear in her Mighty Kids meal. She liked it. I tried to convince her to get the Superman and the Legion of Superheroes toy, but she wasn't havin' none of it. Go figure. Girls! What do they know? It came with a little coupon for a Beararmoir for her little Build-a-Bear bunny's change of clothes (i miss read it, orginally, as saying, a change of clothes) and I suggested that we venture out to Build-a-Bear, the next day. She was all for that, so I put the coupon in my wallet. McDonald's was a success! Back to The Palace for Fantastic Four! But before we left McDonald's, Shae taught me a VERY important lesson that I will now share with you. Adding a shot of vanilla to your Coke tastes really good! BUT (are you paying attention?) just because one shot of vanilla in her small Coke tastes good, DOES NOT MEAN that two shots of vanilla will taste good in your large Coke! If you have a large, ONLY add ONE shot of vanilla to it! I know, the ratio doesn't make sense, but trust me!

Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer, was also a success! She laughed a lot. The Thing and The Human Torch make quite the comedic pair! It was the second time I had seen it, but I didn't mind at all. In my opinon, its one of the best movies of the summer. Next to Transformers, that is. Go see Fantastic Four at The Palace, if you haven't already. The best $2.50 you'll ever spend!

Late Sunday afternoon, we headed out to Towne East to get her Beararmoir from Build-a-Bear. We hopped in the car and Shae had her little bunny in tow. Construction, out towards Rock Road, is a mess! If you miss the turn off, it will take CENTURIES before you can finally turn around and get to the mall! I thought I'd have a couple of birthdays and gray hair, by the time we would finally make it! We're walkin' into the mall and I noticed that she stuck her bunny in her pocket. Its little head was pokin' out. It was cute! She also had a look of pride on her face. Was it because she was goin' to Build-a-Bear, or was it because she was hangin' out with Daddy? I'd like to think it was because she was hangin' out with Daddy, but she LOOOOOVES Build-a-Bear! Who knows?

As we were walkin' through the mall, I was noticing all the other little girls. Not in the dirty way, so just knock it off! Shalene is almost 10 and these girls had to have been only a couple of years older than that. They were walkin' around with their iPods, talkin' on cell phones, sending text messages, and (gasp!) checkin' out boys! They were cool! Let me tell you! Quicker than I think, Shae's gonna be doin' that, too! But there she was, walkin' beside me, with a little bunny stuffed in her pocket, looking just as proud as she could be! My little girl!

Two weeks ago, I caught a glimpse of her tucking a strap, on her shoulder, back in her shirt. I was immediately fighting back tears! "WHAT WAS THAT?!", I exclaimed. She looked at me and said, "What?". My mom told me not to make fun of her. I said, I wasn't, and that she isn't supposed to get any older. She could still have presents, but no more birthdays. She happily said, ok! The girl's down with gettin' presents! My little girl is growing up! Its exciting and depressing, all at the same time. It seems like just yesterday, she was a curley-headed little thing that wanted me to play Barbies with her, which consisted of changing Barbie's outfit fifty-bizzillion times in ten minutes!

But for now, she is still my little girl, and she's not too cool to stuff a little bunny in her pocket.

3 comments:

  1. Smiles and tears. This piece shows not only how she is growing up, but how you are growing up. You're a proud Dad. And I am one proud Moma!

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  2. Mom, Aunt Carol...thanks again for your kind words!

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