THE PEANUT GALLERY: Go Fly a Kite

The week before we went on vacation, I decided I wanted to do something special when we were away. Something for just me and the peanut. I wanted to create a memory since we often get lost in the obligations and chaos of the daily grind.

So I thought we could fly a kite. We'd go to the store together to pick one out. Her choice. We'd wake up early one morning, before everyone else. Pack a breakfast and go to the beach and fly the kite together. Just the two of us.

Her response? "I don't want to." To all of it. The shopping, the waking up early, the going to fly it. She wanted none of it.

So I backed off. My wife and I picked out a kite without the peanut. It looks like Nemo, but isn't. I didn't do the early wake-up. But one morning, while she was antsy and we weren't ready for the beach yet, I said, "let's fly our Nemo kite."

Again, "I don't want to."

So I started to put it together without her. Eventually, she joined me. Now she's into it. We finally got it assembled after about 45 minutes, which included calling in my wife for reinforcements (remember: I am historically bad at fixing/putting together anything).

And after all of that, the pictures tell the story:

"Wait for me, daddy."

First time doing it herself

Nemo's stunt double

Mission accomplished. Memory made.