Daddy/Daughter Weekend Day 2

Sometimes, I get lucky and things come together by random chance and good moods. This was one of those lucky days.

Today was clear, crisp, and sunny: a perfect outside day. After breakfast - spent sitting at the table reading the Sunday Washington Post (with Geek Girl reading the kid's pages and stealing the comics from me when I wasn't looking) - Geek Girl and I decided to go to the National Zoo to introduce Wholegrain The New Kitty Santa Brought to Tai Shan and the tigers. We walked to the Metro to maximize sun time and chatted the whole way. Much of the walk was taken up with a very complex story involving the Animal Agents (superhero animals that save the day in myriad ways) that I won't try to repeat here.

Geek Girl kept wanting to know how many "points" she was earning -- she gets 100 points for every mile she walks, and the points are redeemable for whatever treats Mama Geek and I deem appropriate. She sometimes plays along with this, but often you can detect the eye rolling already underway. Today, she played along.

Geek Girl Magic Moment #1: "Daddy, I'm glad Mama and [Auntie Geek] are having fun. Mama takes care of me a lot. You don't get to take care of me very often because you have to work. We should have more days like today."

Once at the zoo, we walked through the Asia Trail, stopping along the way to see the fishing cats and watch the otters wrestle. Geek Girl read and asked about all the interpretive signs, and eventually we reached Tai Shan the panda, who was lunching on bamboo and soaking up the sun. Geek Girl "gave him a letter saying Happy New Year" (I just repeat it; I don't explain it) and then announced it was lunchtime. After a quick stop, we headed on down the hill, stopping in the Small Mammals building and the Reptiles building and for extended visits to the elephants, tigers, and lions.

Geek Girl Magic Moment #2 was the extended joyous amazement I felt while watching the flashbulbs of learning going off in her mind as Geek Girl alternated between intense reading of the interpretive signs and questions to me about various aspects of what she was seeing. "Daddy, what would you do if there was an elephant soooo big it could jump over the railing and walk around? Or soooo small it could duck under the electric fence and walk around?" "Daddy, what does 'om-ni-vor-ous' mean?" "Daddy, I learned that a woman's ov-i-duc-ts and a lizard's don't go to the same place. And *you* don't have o-vi-duc-ts! And what is a u-ter-us anyway?" (This exchange was particularly funny as there was a grandmotherly lady standing there reading the same sign and trying not to laugh, especially about me being informed I lack Fallopian tubes.) "Wow, that tiger sure looks hungry. I hope it doesn't swim across the moat and climb up here. You know, tigers are really good swimmers, Daddy." "Daddy, what would you do if the tiger came to get us? I think I'd have to fight it. I'm a Super Dragon, you know." "Daddy, that donkey was sooooo soft and fuzzy!" At one point, a random dad we had repeatedly run into said, "Wow, that sure is a little girl with one big personality!" That about sums it up.

We left the zoo only because it was closing and only after promises to return soon to see all the other stuff we didn't see, and walked up the hill into Adams Morgan where we found a small playground for Geek Girl to enjoy as the sun set. Next stop: coffee (for me), hot chocolate (her), and small snacks (both of us) while we warmed up, and then a walk to the Dupont Circle metro.

As we left the coffee place: "Daddy, tell me another Little People story! It's been sooooo long since you told me one." [For those who don't know: the Little People are really small people who live in our apartment and go on adventures around it, experiencing everyday objects as huge mountains, lakes, vines, fields, etc. Each story has a mystery Geek Girl has to solve, like the time the Little People visited the Cave Monster (my tongue as I snored with my mouth open) under Two-Cave Mountain (my big schnoz). The Little People first appeared when Geek Girl was freaked out about a small boogie boarding accident and I needed to calm her down by giving her a puzzle to solve. They've been a hit ever since. Desperate fathers take note: some spur-of-the-moment things are winners, but be prepared for them to last.] This time, the Little People went on a three-day journey from Geek Girl's bedroom, through her bathroom, and to the bananas on our counter for the Festival of the Yellow Tubes. This story carried us all the way back to East Falls Church, and then we walked home with Geek Girl talking about the different types of dragons and various other Animal Agents.

We stopped off for dinner at a local place where Geek Girl Magic Moment #3 happened: spontaneous consumption of vegetable matter. In mid-sentence, she looked down at her plate and said with immense seriousness: "I'm going to eat one of those carrots. Super Dragons don't usually eat carrots, 'cause we're predators, but I'm going to eat you, Mr. Carrot." And she did. I asked her to eat another one, and this time the response was: "Super Dragons don't usually eat carrots, but sometimes they will if their Daddies tell them to." "Good, sweetie, now finish that one, please."

We rounded out the day with a game of Monopoly, Jr. and a book before Geek Girl headed to bed. She fell asleep almost instantly and is now happily snoring away, which is hardly surprising when you consider that she earned about 600 points today and probably asked just as many questions along the way.