Life in 3-D: Fathers and Daughters

Today was a special day in the O'Leary household! It was the first time the two older girls went to a dance with their daddy! For weeks it has been on our calendar and Brooke has been asking nearly everyday, "Is today daddy daughter dance day?". Finally the day has arrived. The day began with putting curlers in Savannah's hair (her idea!). Savannah has always been my jeans and t-shirt kind of gal. Don't get me wrong- she looks precious in everything, but she just doesn't normally gravitate towards the foo foo. So it took me by surprise that she wanted the hair curled. She has beautiful, long hair that I am quite envious of right now, seeing as I recently chopped mine off. So we rolled her hair. Brooke began the day by asking if she could get ready. It was 8:00 am. Just a tad early to put a four year old in a white dress. So we put that off for a while. Later in the day we visit the florist and pick up a cute little corsage for each girl. Savannah was thrilled. Brooke cried because she wanted a smiley face balloon instead. "If I got you a smiley face balloon, you would have to wear it on your wrist to the dance," says me, "OK!" says Brooke. So she wasn't too thrilled with the whole corsage idea initially. However, she later took much pride in her beautiful yellow rose. We headed home and waited for Daddy. The girls got their dresses on after dinner and we proceeded to fix hair. I am imagining my daughters getting ready for homecoming dances and proms and nervously awaiting their dates arrival. Getting a little verklempt...OK, maybe I am just tired. Brooke begins to dig in the dress up trunk to accessorize. She finds a very sparkly silver, sequined clutch, two bracelets, a light up crown, and a necklace. Savannah wears my "crown" I wore on my wedding day. She keeps it on display in her room. Again, feeling a bit weepy. She also decided to wear some very large "diamond" earrings and a necklace I wore to a dance in the eighth grade. They're pretty classy. I think my mom bought them from Claire's. High dollar. Anyways, never thought those would be seeing the light of day again! She looked precious. Savannah also decides to wear my great,great grandmother's fur stole. I think it's mink. Very soft and again, glad someone is getting some use out of it! So gorgeous, but I'm always afraid PETA will throw eggs at me if I wear it. My mom says her grandmother would be so tickled that Savannah's wearing it! Dad gets home and puts on a suit. Yes, I said SUIT! And boy did he look handsome. OK, so when do I get to put on a fancy dress, wear mink and go out with Bruce while he wears a suit??? Come on, where's the love?

I make the kids pose for a million pictures and they're off. I watch and wave from the door. Such precious moments. Watching my sweet girls, all dressed up, load into a car and make a memory they'll never forget. Already looking forward to next year. So this is what it means to be mom.