Wednesday, January 6, 2010

The Double Date

My youngest daughter Peachie has been dating a young man for over a year now. We like him. He has impeccable manners and treats Peachie very well. Yet we only really see him when he picks Peachie up, or before they retreat downstairs to watch a movie and/or do things I don’t want to know about. On Sunday they asked Martha and I if we would like to double date with them. Really, how cute is that?

And so we all went bowling together. Not really my sport. I don’t think I’ve ever broken 100 in my life. And my form must be terrible because I always seem to pull a muscle in my butt. I am still walking around with a limp. We laughed (mostly at me), we ate, we got goofy, we got to know bf much better. Really one of the best dates I've had.

Anyway, it was peculiar to see my daughter in a different role - girlfriend. They giggled together. They make inside jokes with each other. She beat him in one game and he congratulated her (a quality I definitely like to see in a male). When she wanted something, he took care of her. And vice versa. She had a knot in her shoe - she went to him. Wait a minute, hasn’t that always been my job?

More and more I experience these reminders that my daughters are growing away from me. Other people in their lives are taking care of their physical and emotional needs. It’s a very odd feeling to sit back and watch your child in a different role other than ‘your child’. I am reminded of a cross stitch piece I had done for her when she was a baby that said:

Dear Little One
I wish you two things,
To give you roots and
To give you wings.

She is definitely sprouting her wings. But I’m not sure I’m ready to see her fly away just yet.

10 comments:

  1. I have to say, both times when I watched them be someone's "significant other" I thought, "Hey, she/he's just a kid! Cut it out!" LOL

    I think it's awesome that you guys went out together and even MORE awesome that they WANTED to go out w/ you guys.

    Kudos to you! :P

    Now let's go shackles our kids in the basement...

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  2. So wonderful of your daughter and her boyfriend to invite you two out for a double date. It sounds like you all had a great time. My mom had a hard time letting us go too but even though we flew the coup, we never flew too far away. This post brought tears to my eyes. Thank you for sharing.

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  3. Ah, it is so hard to let them go. But you have given them a tremendous root system and you will always be *home* to them.

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  4. I'm agreeing with you all: it's so hard to let them go. It does get easier after awhile but oh, how I miss my girl!

    It would be so much easier if I liked her boyfriend. But, I don't. I am coming to terms with the fact that it's her choice. However, I am hoping she sees the light sooner rather than later and dumps his sorry ass!

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  5. Your posts about your girls always make me smile. they are just such great people. Hx

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  6. I'm thinking back to being that age and I can't imagine ever thinking of asking my parents to double date with me. Maybe your relationship is evolving to include a more adult form of friendship. That must mean you're all cool and stuff. :) Not that I doubted that for a second.

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  7. this made me teary-eyed! thank you for being such an amazing mom!

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  8. Tina - does Amazon sell shackles? I'm definitely looking it up.

    Greg - I suspect it has less to do with us being cool, and more to do with us picking up the tab.

    Thank you all for letting me indulge my sappy parental moments.

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  9. What a wonderful post! I am thinking back myself and I think I agree with Greg. I don't think I would have ever considered going on a double date with my parents at that age, regardless of who was paying. How very fortunate you are.

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  10. What a wonderful double date! I have to smile in recognition since I am going through the same thing with my daughter as well.

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