Saturday, July 02, 2005

I Love My Child

Every parent hopes they raise thoughtful, loving children. It's gratifying to get a reminder of that fact that my x-wife and I were able to do just that: raise thoughtful, loving children.

I met up with my oldest, Emily, tonight after she got off work. She called me to see if I could help her run an errand after work, then we went over to Denny's for dinner.

Those of you that know me, know that I am a big guy. Most restaurant booths and I don't get along too well, because the tables are usually kind of a tight fit for me. Not usually real comfortable. I much prefer tables with normal chairs.

Well, the waitress sat us down into a booth, and I slid in across from Em. It was tight. My tummy was pressed kind tight against the table, but I didn't say anything. C'est la vie - I am what I am and I don't complain. Em and I were chatting, I was looking at the menu trying to decide what I wanted. When the waitress wandered by, Em told her that she liked to sit at the counter, and asked if we could sit there instead. I glanced over at the chairs (barstool type things with backs) and saw they were on a fixed post in the floor. No moving them back from the table.

Sigh. Oh well.

So we got up, I squeezed out of my seat, and we wandered over to the counter. As I turned to face where Em had been pointing, turns out she had been pointing to a couple of regular chairs at the counter. Normal movable chairs.

Obviously I was pleased, but it only took me a second to realize Em had asked for us to move because she knew I was uncomfortable and she didn't want to embarrass me. She just saw my discomfort and did something to ease it. I smiled.

When we sat down, I whispered to her, "You are very observant and a very sweet girl. Thank you." She smiled, blushed a little, and no more was said. We had a wonderful dinner, good conversation, and I got be reminded what a sweet, wonderful, considerate woman Emily has grown into.

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