My wife and I are blessed with a son & a daughter, born eighteen months apart. I've been active in baseball, Boy Scouting & music lessons with our son, while my wife has played an active role in our daughter's activities such as Girl Scouting and dance. While I've never missed a recital or an Honor's Day at school and have always tried to go out of my way to encourage our daughter, Scouting is causing some "dad guilt" this year because the time I'm spending with our son vs. the time I'm spending with his sister is out-of-balance.
We boys are going on a 2-week hiking trip this summer. Besides the fact that I'll be left with only a little under one week of vacation to spend with my wife & daughter, the "train-up" for this trip is substantial. Though my little girl has made no mention of getting the short end of my time, my wife tells me she probably feels slighted.
For that reason, yesterday I jumped at the chance to spend a chunk of time with my daughter, and it seemed one of those oh-so-rare days when you feel as if you're taking part in building a positive memory.
We started the day at Dunkin' Donuts (her preference). I'd thought a little ahead & brought along a couple of books & a mancala set.
We made small talk while she sipped her hot chocolate & I drank my coffee. Then we started the first of three mancala matches. When she'd moved all her marbles to my side of the board for the third time in a row (winning fair & square), I suggested that we read for a while. She's reading "Inkspell", the sequel to "Inkheart", and I'm finishing a leadership book called "Influencer".
It turned out that the background noise at the donut shop means it's not the greatest place to read, so she suggested fairly quickly that we hit the road. On the way to the car we laughed out loud about anything & everything. On the way home we sang along with the Muppets, "The Sound That's Made By Worms" & replayed it several times. Later we took Fritz for a long walk in the woods and laughed as his short chihuahua legs never slowed him down as he vaulted over logs twice his height.
I hope yesterday was as much of a blessing for my daughter as it was for me. I know it doesn't put everything back in balance but hopefully it's a decent first installment toward doing just that.
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