Surprise!

My first hint that something was amiss came at 4:00 P.M. or so, when my older daughter called me at work and asked me if I would work late. My kids have occasionally had "meals" waiting for me when I'd get home from work, and I figured this was no different.

Though I didn't actually agree to work late, I stayed for an extra half hour, figuring that would be enough time for the kids to have whatever-they-were-doing ready by the time I got home. I was wrong.

When I got home, I was met with my younger daughter at the bottom of the stairs, and my older daughter hollering from the main floor "You can't come up here." So I stayed in the basement, where they had started playing Napoleon Dynamite on DVD to keep me occupied, asked them to bring me a beer, started a fire and kicked back to read a book while the movie played quietly in the background.

Little did I know that I'd be couped up in the den until my wife got home, two and a half hours later. As expected, the kids fixed us dinner... An appetizer of pistachios, A main course of homemade rice soup, made with chicken broth and carrots, and a double dessert of gingerbread cookies and a loose interpretation of rocky road... a kid's interpretation of the perfect meal.

During our meal we were treated to a fashion show and lip synching, put on by the girls, and it was fun. My younger daughter also played the guitar and improvised some lyrics... I think the highlight was when she sang about how "My sister gives me the blues, but she always wears clean shoes." The Mrs. and I both burst out laughing, which of course made the kid very pleased with herself.

I really get a kick out of when the girls do these little meals and/or shows for me. It lets them use their imagination and creativity, and keeps them from rotting their brains in front of the TV. At the same time though, past experience has told me that these meals and shows usually mean a lot of extra clean-up work for the adults. This time was no exception.

At times like these, I look forward to the prospect of my kids having kids, so they can experience the fun-stration (combination of fun and frustration) of these shows. I don't enjoy the cleanup afterwards, but I do enjoy the effort, creativity and watching the kids ham it up for us.