Today, I had a very special date with my wonderful daughter. Franny and I met up her San Diego cousins to attend the Classical Ballet Academy’s production of he Nutcracker. I’ve been wanting to do something special with her, and this seemed like the perfect outing for us. It was her first time to a ballet performance and her first introduction to the Nutcracker story, so I am sure that a lot of it was confusing for her. But, I also think she really enjoyed it. The ballet lasted for two hours, and she spent that entire time focused on what was going on the stage. On our ride home, she asked lots of questions about the different performers and what they were doing. I’ll get a better idea over the next couple of days how much she really enjoyed it and how much she understood—it always takes her time to decompress and to set things straight in her own perspective. I do know, however, that she liked getting dress up in her fancy dress and shoes—that is classic Franny. As for mother-daughter bonding, she later said that she wished that Cole and Daddy had come with us. If that is really true, I think it’s very sweet; but I think she enjoyed our time together as much as I did.