Flash Forward

As always - The Cast of Characters

Me (The Daddy)
The Bean: Age 8
The Butterfly: Age 6
The Darling Wife

 

The Bean had her First Communion last Sunday.  

She was decked out in a beautiful white dress, complete with white High Heels and a Veil.

Yes, a Veil.

She was absolutely stunning, A Vision of loveliness, looking much older than I wanted to admit.

At one time, we walked down the center aisle of the church with her little hand in mine.

And I get choked up.  Big Time.

Walking her down the aisle evoked a frightening feeling in me.  It was as if I was giving her away.

I get choked up.  Fragments of tears appear in my eyes.  I don't want to give my baby away.

But she's beaming her wonderful smile.  "Daddy," she asks, "Are you OK?"

I nod that I am, but I am not.

"It's OK, Daddy," she says.  "You won't have to do this again for a long time."

I smile. "I hope not," I say.

She motions for me to bend down so she can kiss my cheek.  "See, Daddy," she says.  "It will all be all right."

I tell her the car will be full of gas when that day comes.  She pretends to understand.

"Don't cry on my dress," she advises.  "I want to look perfect."

And she does.

The Butterfly...Live at Budokan

As always - The Cast of Characters

Me (The Daddy)
The Bean: Age 8
The Butterfly: Age 6
The Darling Wife

The Buffett Puppy

 

We've enrolled The Bean and The Butterfly in an after-school program called Budokan.

It's a Martial Arts-style program where the girls go and do their homework, then learn Aikido.

Aikido is, apparently, where you learn to hit people with sticks.  

The Bean and The Butterfly are getting pretty good at hitting people with sticks.

Why, you may be asking, would we want them to learn to hit people with sticks?

"It's for their self esteem," The DW says.

I must admit, hitting people with sticks does sound like fun.  I could probably make a list.

However, I'm not sure why we want The Butterfly to hit anything, with sticks or otherwise.

Case and point.  When we good to the grocery, The Butterfly likes to carry things.

Last time, she carried a 20 pound bag of dog food through the parking lot.

That is more than 1/3 of her weight.

That's scary.  Army Ant scary.

So, The Butterfly is carrying this 20 pound bag of dog food through the lot.  It's cute.  I laugh.

Other people fail to see the humor though.  They flash me dirty looks.

So I try to take it away.  "Daddy," she says, "I got this one."

And why do I want The Butterfly to learn to hit people with sticks?