A Little Alone Time Together

Posted by Jeff on November 9, 2010 at 3:49 pm

I get 3 days each and every week to have the Mouse all to myself. We play, we read, we dress up, we cook & bake, we run errands, and we learn. More often than not, it’s fun. The other 2 days during the week, she goes to a preschool where she gets some structure, organized lesson plans, strands of various illnesses, and absolutely filthy.

Since the Bear started Kindergarten in Fall ’09, our alone time together has been a wee bit scant. I kinda think our relationship has suffered a bit as a result. Lately, I’ve made a concerted effort to reverse any damage done by the lack of that daddy-daughter time by NOT picking up the Mouse straightaway from getting the Bear: At the tail end of summer, we’d go for ice cream. As autumn made itself known with temps under 60 degree, we went to the school uniform store for new long-sleeved gear. On Sunday night, we two stayed out rather late to see April Smith & the Great Picture Show in Philly. And this afternoon I’m taking her, just her, grocery shopping. She’ll squeal with delight riding around Wegman’s in the pretend car (sanitized, of course), acting like a goofball, and trying to make me laugh.

I understand the relative smallness of these moments, but there is something to be said for a 1/2 hour here and 45-minutes there, sans little sister. Yeah, she’s cute but she’s also 3, and sometimes a 1st grader just needs her daddy. And sometimes, probably more so, a daddy just needs his 6-year old.