Riding Off Into The Sunset

Friday was family day at the kid's school, which meant we spent the day at her school participating in a wide array of fun activities designed to increase our awareness of the good things happening at the school. I might have had fun, but I was in the peak stage of a terrible cold, and it was hard to see through my watering eyes. Plus, I sneezed a lot, so all I can really remember is being stared at as I interrupted key points in the mass and the drama club program with tremendous nasal eruptions.

The day ended with a picnic on the lawn with all the other kiddos and parents. As everything wound down, one middle school girl dramatically left the premises on the back of her father's motorcycle. A pretty cool way to leave, and I am sure it won her some awesomeness points with the other middle-schoolers.

A few minutes after this, Teddy's mom walked over to us. (For infrequent readers, Teddy is the object of Ainsley's kindergarten affections.)

"Teddy just said that when he grows up, he's going to buy a 'Hurley' and he and Ainsley are going to ride on it."

Cute. He's thinking ahead to their future.

And as Teddy's mom walked away, I could just see future Ainsley on her wedding day, wearing a gorgeous princess-y gown, but with a pair of knee-high black leather boots hidden under the satin. As Jason and I wave goodbye and all the guests blow bubbles, she slips on a black leather jacket and a black helmet and rides away with Teddy on the back of his hog, sticking her tongue out and bobbing her head from side to side as she is wont to do when she thinks she's cool. Sigh.

I know, I know. I'm getting way ahead of myself. She's only five. And if a potential suitor ever shows up at our house with a real "Hurley" and proposes taking my little girl for a ride...yeah, I don't know if I'll think that's too cute. But for now, I apppreciate that the 6-year-old with the keys to my kid's heart is including her in his daydreams of future fuel-efficient and thrilling modes of transportation.