Daddy and Rachel's Perfect Day

Recently, I had a day off to spend with Rachel, while my wife was at the Temple Early Learning Center, preparing for the new school year. I told Rachel the day would be filled with surprises. Of course, she tried to get me to reveal them, but I stayed strong.

We began at the grocery store. Rachel chose the requisite shopping cart with a plastic car attached and we were on our way. The most important item on our list was half a dozen eggs. Rachel loves helping me make scrambled eggs. I chose a container, presented it to her Rachelness and after careful examination, she offered her approval.

On the way out of the store, we stopped at the bank counter. The woman who tries to keep the line moving said something to Rachel (they know each other) and Rachel replied that it would make her "uncomfortable." The woman was quite impressed Rachel had "uncomfortable" in her vocabulary.

As I waited for my turn in line, Rachel transformed the pole that marks the front of the line into a fire pole, sliding down onto the floor and then giving her Minnie Mouse a turn.

Then, right after I loaded her back in the car, I noticed a real fire truck. Two members of the crew were getting groceries and the driver remained in the front seat. I brought Rachel over to show her the truck. The driver saw her and opened the door. He allowed her to sit behind the wheel, while she recited her address and that she knew to call 911 if there was ever an emergency.

Fresh off that happy coincidence, we came home. We scrambled four eggs. The protocol is Rachel cracks an egg and I empty it into the pan. Then I crack one and she empties it. It was quite the yummy breakfast.

Our next surprise was a trip to the library. Rachel had been there once before to see a puppet show, but we didn't explore the library much. Today, we would have as much time as she wanted.

The obvious first step was to get library cards. The librarian took our info. When we got to the phone number, Rachel provided the details. She is proud of knowing the number and usually delivers the phone number with the ratatat speed of a machine gun. Rachel sat up on the counter and watched the process, as I explained the need to stay quiet and use an inside voice, which would become a recurring theme during the next few hours.

Rachel was also fascinated by the electronic scanner. In fact, she leaned over and scanned her head when the librarian was otherwise engaged. Fortunately, her head was not overdue.

We went back to the children's section. Rachel picked up a book about Dora the Explorer going to the dentist. Little did she know she herself would be making her first trip to the dentist in a few days (more on that in another entry.)

Basically, Rachel was more interested in the computers with children's educational programs than the books. And she learned when she gets up to wander around, she forfeits her terminal.

At one point, Rachel got up, held one hand in front of her crotch, another behind her butt and proclaimed loudly. "I need to find a bathroom before I tt or poopie on myself."

Soon after that, we left with six books and of course, a Wiggles cd. After we got to the car, I realized we had left Minnie Mouse back in the library. As soon as we were back in, Rachel raced to the children's section and retrieved Minnie. As we left, she offered her thanks with, "Daddy, you're my hero!"

I offered to take her to ChuckECheese, but she opted for Athens Pizza instead. She flirted and seemed to hit it off with a 6-month-old girl behind us. Olivia seemed to get upset whenever Rachel averted her attention from her to her meal.

We then went to ToysRUs and didn't buy anything. I'll pause to let that sink in.

On the way home, we learned Rachel likes Katrina and the Waves Walking on Sunshine . It was the perfect song for a perfect day!