At the end of a long, tiring, stressful week of -insert any profession here- and the bell rings to go home, the first thing one generally would like to do is put their feet up, maybe crack open a pop or two, turn on the TV and turn off the brain.  Truth told, such luxuries rarely exist in the life of a parent, but even though the dreams of relaxation may not be a reality they are dreams not the less.  On this particular Friday, however, despite it being the week that it was, putting my feet up was the last thing I wanted and the furthest from my mind.  In fact, Friday evening was the driving force that actually got me through each day with a smile on my face and a skip in my step; Friday night meant an evening out with my daughter.

On the eve of Audrey’s birthday, her wish was to have a solo sleepover away with her Mom.  An evening out for dinner, complete with poutine and a banana split for desert, followed by snuggles in front of a movie with the complete freedom to enjoy the crunchiest foods made by humans (I have thing with crunchy foods…I’ve been working through it for 45 years…it’s a me problem…but a problem never-the-less).  It was a birthday wish that would warm the heart of any parent – the number one request is time together?  Um, yes please.  So with Alison and Audrey out of the house for an evening to celebrate her special day, that also meant I get reap an equally awesome reward of one on one time with Nora, and we had our plans laid out for days.

In hindsight, starting our evening with all you can eat sushi was perhaps not the best choice; such activities are best reserved for after any physical movement is required – still, I have no regrets.  Walking into a restaurant in downtown Kitchener that we had never been too, I was initially a little concerned that it might not meet our expectations.  I was also a little nervous that she might not like it.  Truth told – when it comes to dining out with the girls, our restaurant going experiences are generally kept to safe zones; places where colouring sheets come at the same time as the water.  This place was different than that.  This place felt ‘cool’ and ‘hip’, like a real restaurant with an atmosphere and new things to try.  Slight touch of concern aside, I was excited to introduce my daughter to new experiences and to dine on something that wasn’t deep fried.

The only word that I can use to describe the experience that took place over the next hour is proud.  I was proud to be there with my child.  Proud to see her trying new things.  Proud that, amongst a sea of fellow diners enjoying date night with their significant other or toasting with the dorm mates, I was sitting there smiling ear to ear with my 10 year old child, not wanting to anywhere else in the world as she marvelled at the flavours of octopus, kimchi, mango shrimp and countless other little plates that just kept pouring out of the kitchen for as long as we wanted them.  Whenever we said we were too full, we’d decide to try just one more thing – the short ribs, the carpaccio, the spring rolls, whatever!  By the time our bellies were too full for anything else, we capped off the experience with just one last bite of a tempura Mars bar…”okay, that was too delicious so let’s get one more.”  “mmmmmm, on second thought, let’s go for a third.”  “Oh man, they have creme brûlée?  Well I need to get that too!”   I received glances and smiles from the surrounding tables and servers as they pouted their lips and curled their brows in a way that suggested their only thoughts could be “how look how adorable that father and daughter are”.  Granted we may not have felt ‘adorable’ after devouring 30 plates of raw fish and fried chocolate bars, but Proud certainly captures the sentiment.

Bellies full and feeling a sluggish, the only logical thing for us to do next was hit the climbing gym.  Only a short drive away, we spent the time regaling in all the delights from the restaurant, agreeing that we must return before long.  Now, I’ve written posts on our climbing adventures in the past, so I won’t bore you with details here – suffice to say I didn’t exactly bring my a-game, but I did get the opportunity to watch Nora as she coached and befriended another little girl who was there with what I assume would have been a grandparent.  Struggling with some technique and figuring out the auto-belay system, Nora spent time with her in the kids section, coming up with games the two of them could play – racing up and down the walls, laughing and giggling all the while.  I asked if Nora knew this girl from before, given how friendly they were being, and she simply replied with “No, she just seemed really nice and I wanted to help her.  We had fun.”   I commend children on this quality in life.  I don’t know at what age it is that most of lose the ability to casually converse with strangers, or when we lose our trust in others, but I know if I just walked up to anther 40-year old in the gym and said “hey – you want to race up and down the walls together?”  it wouldn’t land quite the same.

Back at the house, we had planned on chips and snacks in bed in front of a movie.  It was at the advice of my very wise daughter that we skip the snacks and stick to a show instead.  So, cuddled into bed, my heart full of everything good and the experiences of work washed away, we watched school of chocolate and fell asleep.  It may not have been a night full of grand exploration, travel to far away places, or any type of fanfare, but it was nothing short of perfect.  Times like this are those that can’t be recreated – we shared stories, we tried new things, we focused on the things we love.  For 4 or 5 hours we just lived in our world, appreciating all that that means without rushing through it or wondering about what else might be out there.  I love every opportunity I get to be with my family, but sometimes a moment just clicks and lasts forever.  This was one of those times.