Christmas with Jessi

Watching two little girls all week while they're parents are in Paris. Challenging seems to be the most appropriate description.

Father/Daughter Night

Tonight was date night with Baba. We've been planning it since I heard in October that sweet Sabrina won the part of Clara in the Nutcracker. It has given Dad something to look forward to to get him out and about a little more after surgery.

He rode the Frex bus to Denver where I picked him up and took him to his meeting. Then, he treated me to a beautiful lobster dinner during which he initiated conversation about my boyfriend, and only nagged me slightly about going to law school. Then it was off to see the ballet.

The thing about this man (which any of you who know him will chuckle when you read) is that his theater etiquette is virtually non-existent. Fortunately, I have attended enough concerts and shows with him to anticipate this fact. I planned the parking so that he wouldn't have to walk too far, and got him there early enough to get the seats we wanted, but not too early that he'd get bored. I made sure we had box seats so that he wouldn't disturb the people around us (as much), and made sure we had quick access to the exit.

I am pretty much convinced that he has absolutely no idea how to whisper, so during the overture it was "where is everybody?" and then, "HA HA, the mousies," as they came scurrying across the stage. He snuck in a bag of nuts from the Asian market (as if it were candy into the movies), and left crumbs on the floor under his seat.

I'm grateful that I was fully prepared for this behavior so that I could enjoy his company rather than feel embarrassed or self-conscious. The man is a hoot. As I was driving him home he apologized for not having the endurance to stay through the whole performance (which I did not expect anyway) and thanked me for the "treat." Hee. I'd say it was a successful daddy date night.

What's going on?

I'm pretty sure Baba takes every opportunity he gets to teach me life skills. This can take several forms, but often it's attending meetings with him. Tonight was one such occasion. I took him to a meeting with his CPA in Denver and eagerly absorbing everything, and mentally writing follow up questions on my mind. As we were walking back to the car he said, "You know, Mei Mei, the only reason I talked to him in English was so you would know what the hell was going on."

Xie xie, Baba. It would have been a significantly more boring meeting otherwise. Ha.