I’m back from the family reunion, offspring in tow. Along the way, we made her first pilgrimage to the Mecca for women, young and old, a place called “Sam Moon.” What is a “Sam Moon,” you may ask? Sam Moon is a phenomenon in the Dallas/Fort Worth area. It’s a chain of stores that sell women’s accessories – jewelry, purses, luggage, belts, earrings, necklaces and the like, at wholesale prices. “Wholesale prices” is a term that is bandied about in the retail game, sometimes with a sense of mendacity that would make a professional liar blush. No, Sam Moon has got the goods. They are the real deal, the genuine article, the Real McCoy. But this is not a post about the wonders of Sam Moon, the upsetting of the natural order when it comes to baubles, bangles, and bright shiny beads. No, gentle reader, this is a story about awe, shared experiences, and fatherhood.
My daughter is brilliant. She is at a marvelous age – 10 – where she is growing, learning, developing, and changing almost every day. I’m extrordinarily lucky, in that I have a job that allows me to spend more time with her than many dad’s get to spend with their own kids. I count myself lucky, too, that I got to take her to Sam Moon. Understand, I could care less if I ever set foot in a place like that again – Guitar Center and Lowe’s are more to my liking. But I’d walk across hot coals to experience the kind of awe, wonder, joy, and pure adrenalin that my daughter experienced going to Sam Moon for the first time. I had more fun seeing her reactions than I would have walking into a room full of exotic guitars.
We got there right as the store opened. My daughter looked like Little Orphan Annie, with red hair and eyes as big as saucers. I’m not exaggerating – she was as excited as I’ve ever seen her. I’m sure part of it was just the sheer size of the place – think a “Sam’s Club” that sells nothing but jewelry, luggage, and accessories. But I suspect a large part of it has to do with her evolution from precocious litle girl to energetic young woman. Fashion is a big part of her life – she’s constantly drawing ideas for dresses, creating beaded necklaces, and sewing fabric from old clothes into outfits for herself or her dolls. She is every bit the fashionista, and her clothes and accessories are a big part of her identity. For her to enter the inner sanctum of inexpensive fashion accessories was in many ways a right of passage no less meaningful for her than a Bar Mitzvah is for a young Hebrew boy.
Lest you think I was indulging my daughter in an activity that would bankrupt me, teach her the wrong kind of lessons about money, or both, she spent her own money she’d earned from chores, and learned some valuable lessons, to boot. She had to stay within her own budget (not an easy trick when the average price of most items there was $5.00). She also learned that spending all your money in the first store you come to means you have nothing left when you visit all the OTHER cool stores your Dad takes you to visit.
So my offspring bought a lot, enjoyed a lot, and learned a lot. I got to spend time with my daughter, which turned out to be somewhat bittersweet. At ten years old, she’s entering that “transitional phase” between childhood and adult life. It occured to me that it won’t be long before she’s caught up in her own social life, and I won’t have the opportunity to spend time with her as I do now. That’s all a part of her growing up, and it will be as right as it will be inevitable. Still, I don’t have to like it. So I’m doing everything I can to spend as much time with her now, so when she does get to the point where she is grown up, we’ll both have a bunch of fond memories to look back on, and I’ll have done my best to build an enduring relationship with my precious child.
In the end, I think I learned as much on this trip as did my daughter. I learned that I’m a really lucky guy, and that my daughter – and our relationship – is a huge part of my life. Which is just as it should be.
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