Our First Mom & Daughter Date… EVER

Our Friday evening was gearing up to be a bit of an annoying one.  It had already been a day of running from pillar to post and then to top it off, we had a ballet eisteddfod practice in Sea Point at 4pm, that would last a couple hours.  Neither of us had eaten properly before we left home, so we were starting to get a little bit hangry.  Just the thought of having to get home through the traffic and still make supper before getting the kids to sleep was making me feel ick.

So instead I thought we needed to get away from all of that and do something that I have been wanting to do for EIGHT years…   Take my eldest daughter on a date.

It’s something I’ve seen numerous friends do and something that I frequently did with my own mother.  I still remember those trips to the Wimpy – eating slap chips drenched in tomato sauce and talking about anything and everything.  Special, special memories.

Anyway, Seth had the other two and treated them to homemade pizzas topped with whatever they wanted – which turned out to be cheese, ham and 99% dark chocolate.  And apparently it was yummy.

But back to our little date.

I told her that she could go absolutely anywhere provided that it was in the area and had easy (and safe) parking.  We settled on the Waterfront.  Having just been at ballet practice and not planning to be going out, she only had her ballet shoes on.  And with a eisteddfod coming up and having just replaced the shoes, I wasn’t keen to destroy the brand new pair.  So we popped into H&M to get some new shoesies.  We ended up almost twinning and it was pretty sweet how stoked she was that we matched.

Then it was time to fill those tummies.  Kyla had opted for sushi but Ocean Basket was closed so we headed to Primi.  She insisted on sitting opposite me with the candle in the middle.

After checking out the menu for a little bit and discussing ALL the options available she begged me to share some pasta with her.  And well, how could I resist?  it would be rude.  So we settled on two separate options and put them in the middle of us to share.

I don’t think we’ve ever had this amount of uninterrupted time for us to just chat.  In eight years guys.  Eight stinking years and I had never done this.  It’s embarrassing actually.  Nevertheless it was absolutely glorious to not be distracted by anything other than the football on the TV that she occasionally glanced at.  We chatted about EVERYTHING.  From ballet and being nervous, to school and friends and just life you know?  Stuff that you don’t ever get to in the brief conversations we are able to have in the bustle of the normal day.

In fact it was going so well that we just had to end of the evening with a chocolate brownie!

With full bellies we headed back to the car, hand in hand.  It really felt like a real date.  You know?  When both of you are just in the zone.  It was brilliant.

Then while we were weaving through town on our way home, she thanked me for taking her out and for her new shoes.  I can’t tell you how that made me feel.  In fact I thought I couldn’t feel any happier until…

She whispered to herself, “This is the best night EVER!”

Yoh, was I a hot mess.  I had to keep it all together until we got home and everyone was snuggled up in bed but flip, when I was on the couch processing it all it just hit me.  My baby girl isn’t a baby anymore and she values this time together just as much as I do.  And I need to do this WAY more often before it’s too late.

That girl.  I freaking love her.

I’ve just spent the night out with my first born baby girl, who reinforced this evening that she really isn’t a baby anymore. We went on a little impromptu date and it was the most heart warming thing I’ve done in months. Some thoughts and moments from our time together: 1. She didn’t pack normal shoes to chuck on after her ballet rehearsal so I bought her a pair. We were sort of twinning and both of us loved it. ? 2. We wanted to have sushi but the Ocean Basket is closed for renovations at the Waterfront so we headed to Primi. 3. She chose to sit opposite me and then begged me to share some pasta with her. So I totally cheated this evening but after being really good for so long and for such a special occasion I hope my face will allow me this win. 4. We also had a brownie (eek – double sorry face) 5. It was SO special just chatting about her life and the things she’s doing, loving and hating right now. I feel like we bonded where we usually struggle to do that in our normal week. 6. In the car she thanked me for taking her out and for the shoes which made my heart so happy. Then she whispered “This was the best night EVER” to herself and my heart literally exploded. I’m currently lying in the lounge in a complete mess because the time we have with them is just so short. And I flipping love her to freaking death. I’m definitely going to make a real effort to do this with all of them at some point soon. Precious, precious memories.

A post shared by Cindy Alfino (@cindyalfino) on Aug 25, 2017 at 12:06pm PDT