A Practically Perfect Day Rose From the Ashes

I bought tickets a while ago to take Calliope to her first Broadway show, The Very Hungry Caterpillar, along with her surrogate grammy, Barbara. I booked a babysitter for Amelie a month ago. Barbara made a reservation at a nice restaurant nearby. It was going to be a Very Special Day Out.

And then the babysitter looked at me blankly when I reminded her about our plans. She had gotten the dates mixed up, and had other plans.

And then this morning Barbara texted me that a dear friend's husband was in the hospital with a heart attack and she, Barbara, needed to go be with her friend.

And then Calliope whined about not wanting to go to the theater.

And I got in her face and yelled, "I spent a lot of money on these tickets and we are GOING and YES I am disappointed that Alex cancelled and YES I am disappointed that Barbara cancelled but we are GOING and we are going to have a GOOD TIME." I left out the word dammit.

And she said, "Okay." And got dressed.

And both girls napped in the car on the way to the show. Even though Amelie had already napped that morning (we went to friends' for dinner last night and I thought they understood our schedule, had agreed to it... and set out some food for the kids, finally, about the time I needed to be packing us up. So they were tired). And then I found a METERED parking spot (for up to six hours) a block from Times Square. I mean, what are the odds?

And we got to the show in time, and Amelie barely squirmed on my lap, and both girls were captivated. I was kind of bored, but seeing the delight on their eyes was priceless.

And then we came home and I made scrambled eggs and both girls loved them, a first for Calliope. And it sounds so silly but my mom and my siblings and I all love slow cooked soft scrambled eggs and it seems like such a triumph that both my girls, at last, love them too. It was this strange bonding moment. And Calliope and I have started washing dishes together and it's so cute and funny. She'll scrub a spoon diligently, stick in the drain and remark, "There! Perfect!" She's so pleased to have this new skill because it's something to do together. And despite her slowness and her imperfect technique... it amazingly feels so different to have help with clean up! I cleaned off the table and counters while she washed. Someone to share the load -- what a beautiful concept!

And then Amelie went to nap and I cuddled up on the couch with Calliope and watched cooking shows on the computer. This sounds idiotic but I've never really watched anything with her. It seems like such an obvious thing to do with her but I always try to restrict her screen time so the rare times I allow it, it's usually because I need a break. But oh! It was so sweet to curl up together and watch something we both enjoyed.

Then a workout for me, dinner for them, and an early bedtime for both of them. Not for me, unfortunately. But while staying up too late, I booked a trip to Florida with two other SMCs. That might not be my first choice of destinations ordinarily but a trip with other SMCs... amazing!

So although I was terribly disappointed this morning... I feel like our week of togetherness finally came together. In one [nearly] perfect day. I'm so grateful.