Priorities

Today while Frances was at the gym, I decided to take Abigail to lunch. Her favorite restaurant is "the rice bowl" (Flame Broiler), and we don't go there often because Frances doesn't care for it. Abigail is at a stage where she defers to Frances in everything, including food choices. So I let Abigail choose where we would eat, knowing where we would end up. There is a Flame Broiler near our house, in downtown Anaheim. As I got near downtown, I realized that today is the weekly Farmer's Market, and the street we wanted would be closed. Instead, we used the parking structure by City Hall, and walked through the Farmer's Market.

Abigail was fascinated by it all, and we bought some fruit from a stand, after she'd had a free sample. She was charmed by the man playing the steel drum in the plaza, and watched him for a long time. When we reached Flame Broiler, Abigail asked me if we could eat our lunch by the fountain. It's one of those fountains that shoots water up into the air, and is flat on the ground so that children can walk in it (don't know if they are supposed to, but they can). We got our rice bowl to go, and sat near the fountain to eat. Several children were playing in the fountain by this time, and Abby could not keep her eyes off of them. We were supposed to go grocery shopping after lunch, but as I watched my little girl, I realized that this was one of those times that errands and other obligations should take a back seat to fun.

Once Abigail finished eating, she moved closer to the action. I told her that she could play in the water, but she seemed unsure. At first, she just stood near the water jets, then crept forward. The first time she got wet, she came dashing back to me, a huge smile on her face. It wasn't long before she was soaked, and was thoroughly enjoying herself.

Eventually, it was time to go home and change into dry clothes so that we could go pick up Frances. Abigail skipped, dripping wet, back to the car, talking about her experience the entire way. In the parking structure, I undressed her (we had to giggle about her riding home while she was nakey) and wrapped her in a small blanket I happened to have in the back. After a change of clothes at home, Abby fell asleep in the car. I was so glad that I did not stick to my schedule. We can drag Frances with us and go to the grocery store later, and it was wonderful to see Abigail getting to be her loud, joyful little self, having so much fun in the fountain. I love summer.