Auntie Kate P's Day Out with The Niece

By the end of this past week, I'd had enough of bad news and brick walls and the word "No."


Because the Library gets all the newspapers, I got hold of a little "weekend info" insert in one of the local papers and caught sight of an arts/crafts festival going on in Philly. . . and a light bulb went off.  The Niece loves arts and crafts!  And she has been going to first grade for a month now and making a smashing success of it--which means she doesn't get to hang with the grandparents one day a week like her little brothers anymore.  She needed some attention.  And maybe a little "girl time."


Her parents said yes, and I borrowed the booster seat from my parents' station wagon, and off we went.  The weather was spectacular, so the festival was super-crowded.  But Niece waited patiently in line for her face-painting (happy dolphin leaping over a wave), held my hand as we navigated a sea of people, and enjoyed the sights.  We even played in the park a bit and people-watched as we shared a soda on curbside seats.


On the way to dinner, Niece conked out (good thing the booster seat has a cushioned neck rest). I'll admit, when we arrived at the restaurant and she was still asleep, I wasn't sure what to do.  This sort of thing isn't in the aunt handbook.  So I turned off the car and let her sleep for a few more minutes as I sent some texts.  Including a photo of her asleep to her parents.  Then I figured we both needed to eat--and, uh, not loiter in the parking lot--so I got out and opened the door on her side.  She was groggy for a minute, but then once she realized she was getting dinner and ice cream, she was good to go.


We had a lovely dinner conversation about mixing colors (did I mention she loves art?) and she demonstrated her knowledge of Katy Perry's "Firework" (accompanied by hand motions).  She ate all the hard-boiled eggs out of my salad and a mountain of fries, washed down with two (2!) chocolate milks.  I think she might have eaten one chicken finger but it seemed a perfunctory gesture.  And she went with the flow when the waitress informed her the soft-serve machine was out of order, happily devouring a green (mint) "monster" sundae.


Sure, she later might mention to her parents that we took a little detour on the way to dinner (i.e. Auntie got disoriented with the street closures for the festival and needed to call her dad for directions) but I think she probably will say she had a great time and can't wait to do it again.


And even though I was delighted to be asked to be the godmother of the new baby today, even if new baby is a niece, The Niece always will be number one for "girl time."


A good start to the week.  In spite of having a faculty in-service and not a day off tomorrow.