A Great Morning And Afternoon

Breakfast in the morning with the girlfriend was simply beautiful. Bun drooped off to a nap in the stroller, leaving the hour free for us to catch up and chat. I've been away, and couldn't be with the dear girlfriend through her not-that-minor op and all, and it was high time to catch up.

Picked an ultra quiet lounge for breakfast, and fast-fast choped the spacious seats so that we had plenty of area to sprawl, especially if Bun wanted to crawl around. She's such a wriggly little thing now and wouldn't stay put in the arms. She wants to crawl, touch and put things into her mouth to chomp. So chirpy smiley!

Then we picked up Bubbles from school. The girl was tired, but she wanted to stay up to play. She didn't sleep well the night before, and I had to get her into bed. At least for one afternoon, I'd try to do it, and let the mom have some time on her own. Then hor...really lor...the mom didn't even pop into the room to check in on us! ARRRRGGGH! What if I couldn't get Bubbles to nap??!!! *gulp* There was an impromptu a tea party with Bubbles, and finally, she nodded off to sleep. OOOF. WIN. Sleep battles. This didn't even count as a battle. It wasn't a difficult task to persuade an already tired girl to close her eyes once she lay her head on the pillow. Bubbles wouldn't be obstinate about it. Couldn't imagine how the girlfriend summoned up all the tenacity and grit to last through all the tough battles. She's awesome.

Gave the girlfriend an extra tight hug before I skipped off into the evening drizzle. She had baked a batch of dark chocolate-date balls for the man and I. Perfect little perk-me-ups. We appreciate presents like that. So happy she didn't spend time in the mall to get us anything. I didn't get the girlfriend, the husband or the girls any special Christmas gifts. I only made extra effort to check in with her through 2012, put her on priority and would do so this year too. I don't want to just hand her a gift once a year, and call it friendship. It's like, what do I buy a woman who has everything? :) Methinks it's better to offer sincere gifts, and my time all year round to a friend whom I value deeply.