My Date with Riley
Tuesday, November 08, 2011
Tomorrow is a very big day at the Berg house. No, it is not someone’s birthday. It is not Christmas, not even Thanksgiving yet. It is (brace yourself) my great-big-awesome-spectacular date with my eight (almost nine) year old daughter, Riley.
It all started months ago when Riley decided she and I needed some one on one time together. She asked if we could have a date, and of course, I said yes. But little did I know how big this was going to get.
Schedules are what they are, and so we have been waiting for an evening when we could escape our daily lives and just go hang out. So days turned into weeks. Weeks turned into months. And here we are two months later, finally having our great-big-awesome-spectacular date.
I am a little nervous about the date because Riley has been talking about this great-big-awesome-spectacular date for months. She has built it up in her head as this amazing experience and I am not sure I can live up to her standards. Even if I took her to Disneyworld (which I am not) I am not sure it would live up to her dreams.
Just last night as I tucked an already sleepy Riley into her bunk bed, through closed eyes, she whispered, “Mom, I can’t wait for our great-big-awesome-spectacular date.”
Well, maybe by those exact words, but you get the picture.
She wants to go out to dinner at Pizza Hut, but I am hoping to talk her into a restaurant that serves more than pizza. But it is her date, so I will let her decide.
She wants to go shopping and buy some fall shirts for her wardrobe. I am excited to take her to a few stores and have her try on some clothes and model them for me.
Most of all, she wants to spend one on one time with me, and that is the greatest blessing of all.
One of my favorite quotes is form the movie, Hook, when the grown up Peter Panning is arguing with his wife, Moira. Peter is a work-a-holic dad who has little time for his children. Moira says, “We have a few special years with our children, when they're the ones that want us around. After that you're going to be running after them for a bit of attention. It's so fast Peter. Just a few years, and it's over. And you are not being careful. And you are missing it.”
So, I am trying not to miss it. During these few short years, I am trying to spend time with my children when they are the ones chasing me. I don’t always get it right, but I am trying to do it better.
So, tomorrow I have a great-big-awesome-spectacular date with Riley. It has been months in the making and is what dreams are made of. Which, to be honest, still makes me a little nervous because I hope it is all that Riley wants it to be.
That’s when I remind myself that what she really wants most is me. And that I can deliver. Even at Pizza Hut.
Posted by Trish Berg 9:58 AM
Labels: Graphic Publications, The Bargain Hunter, Wooster Weekly News
