A Glimpse into Our Future
"Come see the baby," Tracie said.
The precocious 2-year girl at the next table timidly crawled over her mom to come to us. We were at the restaurant when a young couple with their little girl came in and were seated at the table next to us. I smiled politely at them and nodded to Tracie to check out the cute girl being seated in the high chair at the end of the other table.
"Here is your preview," I whispered. We snickered at the thought of Sydney being 2 years old.
With baby Sydney fast asleep in Tracie's arms after taking in the full bottle of formula, we casted quick glances at the little girl. She was just adorable with unruly long bangs down her forehead and over her eyes. She reminded me of a female version of Harry Potter, without the glasses and the lightning-shaped scar. She did not seem to mind the hair in her eyes and was too busy playing with the silverware. She banged the fork on the glasses of iced water that the waiter carelessly set in front of her. Her mom quickly took the glasses away and warned her that she might break the glasses and hurt herself. Her attention shifted to sticking the fork into her mouth for a sample of metal. Her young dad yanked the fork away. She let out an ear-piercing scream jokingly in protest but was still as happy-go-lucky as she can be. Both parents looked at us apologetically. The little girl pointed shyly to Sydney and looked at her dad. She found a new target.
"It's a baby," he said and smiled at us as if to say, "I hope you don't mind us using your baby to distract her."
"She's a doll but is definitely a handful," I thought. I nodded back with a "no problem 'cos we totally understand" smile. "Will Sydney be the same way? Probably."
With a blink of an eye, the little girl wiggled her way out of the seat belt of the high chair and hopped up on it. She had her arms spread out to her sides in the sign of the cross and was smiling at her mom. She wanted everyone to see her acrobatic moves. Her parents gasped; her dad snatched her from the chair and promptly gave her a good smack on the buttock. She wailed. Tears were streaming down her face although I could tell that she was not really hurt but was embarrassed and scared. Still wailing, her eyes searched her mom's face for help and comfort. Her mom pulled her into her arms and consoled her. "It's ok. You must learn to be more careful," she said without looking like she was upset with her husband.
Tracie and I looked at each other without saying anything but we were communicating.
"Will that be us?" I wondered. "Me as the disciplinarian and you as the voice of comfort?"
"Yup," she nodded and spoke with her eyes. "We should try to help."
We both turned to the little girl and said, "Come see the baby." The little girl didn't wait for a second invitation. Like a shot, she crawled over but hesitated. She did not know if she was going to get in trouble again. Her mom warned her not to touch the baby for fear of her girl hurting someone else's baby.
"It's alright," Tracie said softly. "You can stroke the baby. She will like it. Want to kiss her?"
My wife is such a good person. She seems to know just what to do with kids. She has a lot of love in her heart. The little girl started to lean toward the baby's face to kiss her but at the last second, not sure of what to do, turned her head to press her cheek against the baby's head in an awkward hug.
"Awwwwwwwww!!" we all said. It was such a precious moment. For a split moment, we bonded with a family of perfect strangers through our children. They were innocent and loving. For a split moment, we forgot we had worries and stress. I felt peaceful and joyous. It was nice. I quietly reflected on the event of the moment as Tracie took the little girl's hand and stroked the baby's soft arm with it. The little girl giggled and pulled her hand out of Tracie's hand so she could gently stroke the baby on her own. It was such a Kodak moment. Too bad I was not prepared with a camera.
It was time for us to move on. We needed to shop for groceries, and there were a lot of chores waiting for us at home. I hated to get up to leave but we had better get the baby home soon. It was extremely hot outside. It would take us another hour to get home after shopping. We shouldn't keep the baby in the car seat for hours in the heat.
The little girl waved goodbye enthusiastically at us and Sydney as we strapped the baby into her carseat and headed toward the door. Her parents seemed grateful that we managed to distract her for several minutes and gave them a break. We had caught a glimpse of our possible future. One that would likely be filled with a 2-year old Sydney playing and fidgeting restlessly in restaurants and stores. I could see already with Sydney's emerging personality that she would want to play with everything in sight and keeping us on our toes. I could see Sydney running around the tables at some restaurant with me chasing after her and apologizing to other patrons. I hope not but I could still accept that if my future were to be so.
I smiled at a glimpse into our possible near-future as I put the car in reverse and backed out of the parking space. What a cute little girl Sydney will make. I could see a reflection of Sydney's sleeping face in the toy with the unbreakable mirror that we had strapped to the back of the seat. "I'm going to kiss Daddy's little monkey when I get home." She was indeed my "little monkey," and as her big monkey, I could not wait to play with her and watch her grow up. Two months down. A million more to go.
The precocious 2-year girl at the next table timidly crawled over her mom to come to us. We were at the restaurant when a young couple with their little girl came in and were seated at the table next to us. I smiled politely at them and nodded to Tracie to check out the cute girl being seated in the high chair at the end of the other table.
"Here is your preview," I whispered. We snickered at the thought of Sydney being 2 years old.
With baby Sydney fast asleep in Tracie's arms after taking in the full bottle of formula, we casted quick glances at the little girl. She was just adorable with unruly long bangs down her forehead and over her eyes. She reminded me of a female version of Harry Potter, without the glasses and the lightning-shaped scar. She did not seem to mind the hair in her eyes and was too busy playing with the silverware. She banged the fork on the glasses of iced water that the waiter carelessly set in front of her. Her mom quickly took the glasses away and warned her that she might break the glasses and hurt herself. Her attention shifted to sticking the fork into her mouth for a sample of metal. Her young dad yanked the fork away. She let out an ear-piercing scream jokingly in protest but was still as happy-go-lucky as she can be. Both parents looked at us apologetically. The little girl pointed shyly to Sydney and looked at her dad. She found a new target.
"It's a baby," he said and smiled at us as if to say, "I hope you don't mind us using your baby to distract her."
"She's a doll but is definitely a handful," I thought. I nodded back with a "no problem 'cos we totally understand" smile. "Will Sydney be the same way? Probably."
With a blink of an eye, the little girl wiggled her way out of the seat belt of the high chair and hopped up on it. She had her arms spread out to her sides in the sign of the cross and was smiling at her mom. She wanted everyone to see her acrobatic moves. Her parents gasped; her dad snatched her from the chair and promptly gave her a good smack on the buttock. She wailed. Tears were streaming down her face although I could tell that she was not really hurt but was embarrassed and scared. Still wailing, her eyes searched her mom's face for help and comfort. Her mom pulled her into her arms and consoled her. "It's ok. You must learn to be more careful," she said without looking like she was upset with her husband.
Tracie and I looked at each other without saying anything but we were communicating.
"Will that be us?" I wondered. "Me as the disciplinarian and you as the voice of comfort?"
"Yup," she nodded and spoke with her eyes. "We should try to help."
We both turned to the little girl and said, "Come see the baby." The little girl didn't wait for a second invitation. Like a shot, she crawled over but hesitated. She did not know if she was going to get in trouble again. Her mom warned her not to touch the baby for fear of her girl hurting someone else's baby.
"It's alright," Tracie said softly. "You can stroke the baby. She will like it. Want to kiss her?"
My wife is such a good person. She seems to know just what to do with kids. She has a lot of love in her heart. The little girl started to lean toward the baby's face to kiss her but at the last second, not sure of what to do, turned her head to press her cheek against the baby's head in an awkward hug.
"Awwwwwwwww!!" we all said. It was such a precious moment. For a split moment, we bonded with a family of perfect strangers through our children. They were innocent and loving. For a split moment, we forgot we had worries and stress. I felt peaceful and joyous. It was nice. I quietly reflected on the event of the moment as Tracie took the little girl's hand and stroked the baby's soft arm with it. The little girl giggled and pulled her hand out of Tracie's hand so she could gently stroke the baby on her own. It was such a Kodak moment. Too bad I was not prepared with a camera.
It was time for us to move on. We needed to shop for groceries, and there were a lot of chores waiting for us at home. I hated to get up to leave but we had better get the baby home soon. It was extremely hot outside. It would take us another hour to get home after shopping. We shouldn't keep the baby in the car seat for hours in the heat.
The little girl waved goodbye enthusiastically at us and Sydney as we strapped the baby into her carseat and headed toward the door. Her parents seemed grateful that we managed to distract her for several minutes and gave them a break. We had caught a glimpse of our possible future. One that would likely be filled with a 2-year old Sydney playing and fidgeting restlessly in restaurants and stores. I could see already with Sydney's emerging personality that she would want to play with everything in sight and keeping us on our toes. I could see Sydney running around the tables at some restaurant with me chasing after her and apologizing to other patrons. I hope not but I could still accept that if my future were to be so.
I smiled at a glimpse into our possible near-future as I put the car in reverse and backed out of the parking space. What a cute little girl Sydney will make. I could see a reflection of Sydney's sleeping face in the toy with the unbreakable mirror that we had strapped to the back of the seat. "I'm going to kiss Daddy's little monkey when I get home." She was indeed my "little monkey," and as her big monkey, I could not wait to play with her and watch her grow up. Two months down. A million more to go.
posted by DaddyEyeduck at 7:39 AM
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