Organise a date night with P

Of course, I have two special little ladies in my life, and so a second date night, this time with P, was always on on the cards. I had planned this one with her, we both knew what would make a great date.

When you have two daughters you want to give them all your attention, in equal, overflowing, abundant measure. It can be hard though, to ensure all get enough quality time during the normal, run of the mill days. After all, their needs are so different. A joint activity can fill one, yet bore another. So one on one time is the answer, yet clearly in short supply, and hence me receiving this challenge. Once again, I was excited to meet it.

I left work early once again, keen to maximise my evening time with P. Opening the door as I arrived home I was greeted by a beautiful young woman, glowing and pure. I know this wonderful period of time won't last forever. One day I will offer to take her on a date and her response will be that she already has plans, and would I like to meet him. Therefore these opportunities are precious, I know, but need to be reminded.

We drive into Geneva, and head for the sushi restaurant. Now, if you know P like I know P, you will be scratching your head. She doesn't like fish, or in fact seafood of any kind, yet has fallen in love with sushi rolls (I know there is a proper name, but doesn't matter) filled with avocado and cucumber. We embrace that fact and we enjoy lovely sushi in posh surroundings. We order saki to try. "Ooh its warm, but almost soothing". I love being with P when she experiences new things, and pushing her envelope. We ordered one of those large wraps that come with the orange fish eggs on top. She is persuaded to try some of the eggs. "Salty - but I don't like them". I'm just happy she tried.

We talk boys, classmates, favourite subjects, teachers.

Then a surprise, I know she loves the ice cream served at McDo, so we drive to the mall. Her eyes light up, and she tells me this is the best. We enjoy our deserts and then browse the cinema posters and trailers close by before heading home. It's late, but that's also part of the fun.

Safely delivered home, we reflect that we'd like to do this again. We will. It's important.

Organise a date night with J

Some of the challenges are tricky, others are pure pleasure. No guessing which category this falls into.

When I reflect upon why this may have been given to me as a challenge I do get it. I'm away from home a lot, too often. My girls need Daddy time, but more than just eating together as a family, and spending weekend around the house, again as a family. They need carved out, planned, I'm thinking only about you time. I need it too, in reality. I want to get to know them better, deeper. I also want them to have good strong memories to cherish, memories that are just them & I.
So I do get it.

I have to admit I left the office early, and with excitement. Mustn't be late for my date. Arriving home I found J waiting for me, looking beautiful of course, radiant even. We packed her transport of choice into the boot (scooter) and headed to Annecy. A little early for our reservation we wandered the streets and climbed up the steep hill to the castle/church (not really sure) then meandered down again visiting a secret garden on our way. The sun was shining, the streets were relatively empty. Perfect.

Pizza was her choice, so pizza we had. A table upstairs, by the window overlooking the street and the passerby below.

Look, the pizza was not great and the piped music coming from the speaker behind us was not appropriate. But it didn't matter a jot, as we were together, just J and I. We chatted, and we laughed. I asked questions (which she loves), we shared little things between us. Then, we left grabbed the scooter from the car, and scooted towards our favourite ice cream shop. Then, cone in hand (quite technical on a scooter) we made our way to the lake. Scoot a bit, lick the ice cream a little, scoot a bit more. Where J wanted to go, we went, no questions asked. She scooted and I walked (fast). We visited her favourite play area, deserted. We took photos by the waters edge. Then, as the light began to fade, we made our way home, delivering her safely, as a date should.

Thank you for this challenge. I think the idea behind it was to inspire more of these events. I'm inspired.