Stream of Consciousness about My Date with Sweetheart

"When are we leaving? When are we leaving?"
She gets a date because I gave her a coupon for a date with mom for Christmas.
She can't wait. Every day, every minute, she's asking if it's time for the date yet.
I have to explain many times that the coupon's not good until AFTER January 2nd!
January 3rd arrives. It's time for the date.
I'm exhausted...still working a few hours at the cheesehouse, and we officially started lessons again today.
What will we do?
She puts on my favorite dress, a princess-waist number that I bought for Bard years ago from Land's End. It has cute little gardening things on it.
I notice that the dress is missing a button. I actually USE one of those buttons they sew to the hem of the dress--you know, the ones intended to be used in case a button falls off?
Bard sews the button onto the dress. Bard's date is next.
We get in the van. Where does she want to eat? I ask.
Where do you want to eat? She asks.
No...this is YOUR date, I say. Where do YOU want to go?
Let's go to Subways, she answers.
Do you like Subway? I ask.
No, not really, she answers. But you do.
What do YOU like, I ask, but I already know the answer.
McDonald's, she says, just like I thought she would.
First to Wal*Mart. I need mayo and my dad needs carpet cleaner.
We buy Sweetheart a new pair of boots for the winter. The ones I bought her at Goodwill didn't survive the dogs.
She puts them on in the store. I put the old shoes in the box.
We buy a pair for The Baby, too. I wanted the little brown ones, but I didn't think The Baby was ready for high heels just yet.
The cashier asks to see Sweetheart's new boots. She models them proudly.
Off to McDonald's.
She sees a little girl that she's seen there before.
She shows the little girl the locket she got for Christmas. It's gold. It doesn't have pictures in it yet.
The little girl had a locket the last time Sweetheart saw her. She told me about it before Christmas. This is why I bought her the locket.
Sweetheart plays with her friend in the McD's playplace.
It's off to a movie. I'm still tired. Do I want to do this?
We're too late for the cheap movie. I take my time.
The roads are wet. It's raining a lot.
I have a hard time hearing Sweetheart. She's mumbling about a headache.
I can't hear you, I say. Talk louder.
She doesn't annunciate well. I've worried about her speech. Too much time talking with a binky in her mouth, I think.
She talks louder.
I still can't hear you, I say.
She yells this time. I HAVE A HEADACHE! She yells. AND NOW THAT YOU MADE ME YELL, I HAVE A BIGGER HEADACHE!
I'm not doing very well at this.
Do you want to go home, I ask?
NO! she yells. WHY IS EVERYONE MAD AT ME?
Everyone??? I ask. I'm not mad at you.
She begins to cry. Uh oh. Tired kid.
As she's yelling about everyone hating her, I hit a patch of high water. Scares the daylights out of me.
I hate driving in the rain, especially at night..
We get to the theater. It's either Fat Albert, Christmas with the Kranks or Polar Express. I don't want to do Polar Express, and it's not playing this late, anyway.
We conference. Why is Christmas with the Kranks PG, I ask the ticket guy.
Mild language. Mild sexual references.
And Fat Albert?
Brief Moments of Language.
I choose The Kranks.
I got Milk Duds.
She got Sour Watermelons.
The movie was pretty good. Not great. But pretty good.
Driving home...now THAT was good.
Sweetheart decides to sing Christmas carols. We sing Santa Claus is Coming to Town and Jingle Bells. She LOVES Jingle Bells. We sing it again and again.
That was so much fun! She yells.
I'm home now. Very tired. Glad I went, but wishing it would have been better.
Bard is next. She needs embroidery thread for her new cross stitch. And then Houdin. He wants to see National Treasure. Maybe I'll let Bohemian take him.
Date is over.
Goodnight.