That Girl

Ev and I tried to get on a tennis court yesterday. You would think on a Saturday, just as college football season is getting into full swing and both the Cubs and the Sox have scheduled games, that we might be able to get on a court for a half hour or so. No such luck. We managed about 5 or 10 minutes during change overs-- just enough to see Evan's righteously evolving ability, but not enough to say we played tennis yesterday.

So, it was a quick jog to the busy play area. And jog we did. Evan made me run from the tennis courts to the play area, something I don't do anymore for a couple of reasons, legitimate or otherwise. But the play area is always fun for Evan and there is always a good mix of parents present to supervise and insure against bullying and the insane fearless risk-taking so common among young kids. And that's where it happened:

Sitting there with racquets and tennis balls in hand, minding my own business, watching Evan play on the swings and twirl down the corkscrew, when all of a sudden she just shows up. Boom. She walks over, beautiful reddish brown hair, smokey grey eyes, gorgeous cardigan sweater and coordinated pants, and plops down right next to me. Frankly, it made me a little uncomfortable but she was all about showing me her camera and wondering how it worked. It wasn't long before I'm thinking how great it would be to come home to a girl like this every day.

Of course it wasn't long before the guy that was with her came over to stand right next to us, like, duh, I get it already. Surprisingly, he let her stay for a bit, seemingly not at all jealous or worried. Obviously the confident type.

She ended up leaving with him-- and her mom, and her grandmother. Even so, it was nice to realize I still have that effect on girls-- even if they're all of 2 years old.

I had a daughter like that once. Cute as she was at two, she's only gotten better with age. But I like to think she'd still perch next to me on a park bench-- if only she had the time.