Daddy's Girls, Now With More Megahertz!

In the last two weeks we celebrated both Kira and Rigel's birthdays. Kira turned eleven, and Rigel turned - well, older than that. I don't see any need to reveal too much here about his age, especially seeing as he is a whole four months younger than me. It's not a big age difference, but I still like to think of us as one of those modern couples with an Ashton Kutcher/Demi Moore kind of thing going on. That is, without the fame, money, hard bodies and flawless skin. Uh, come to think of it, more like a Harold and Maude kind of thing.

As she always does Kira put together her massive Birthday Wish List, neatly typed, numbered and then emailed to me with the subject line, "Just a few things!" It contained everything from a pack of trading cards to a $150 skateboard, and as usual she included helpful notations to assist the confused gift giver, "iDog (NOT iDOG MINI)" and when referring to the overpriced skateboard she humbly added, "Any design!" She's good at these lists, and I can't help but feel sorry for her future husband who no doubt will receive similar lists before any gifting occasion with things like, "Mercedes Benz (NOT C CLASS)" and "4-Carat Diamond (Flawless, natch!)"

Fortunately, as the girls have gotten older Rigel is showing an added interest in shopping for them. Before, I'd only give him an item or two to pick up on his way home from work and I always felt bad for him, having to pass by the aisles of remote-controlled monster trucks to spend all his time picking out tea sets and rhinestone jewelry boxes. He'd usually call me on his cell phone from the store, sounding a little miffed and wondering why the hell Barbie needed her own helicopter, anyway and threatening to buy the girls that set of science encyclopedias. I'd pretend to sympathize and then listen to his stories when he got home about being hopelessly trapped in the Polly Pocket aisle of Toys R Us, searching for the Magic Dream Condo, the one "with the pool (NOT THE JACUZZI.)"

But now, with the girls growing sophistication in taste, he's come to realize that they actually want stuff that he likes buying. When the girls wanted guitars a couple of years ago, I didn't have to do much arm twisting to get him to spend hours at Guitar Center researching kids Fenders and miniature amps. He thought buying Kiyomi a drum set for Christmas was insane, so he spent several nights at three different music stores to prove his point and came home with a mixing board for himself instead. Even the request for a video game requires a visit to Best Buy, which beats trolling the aisles of Target looking for kitchen playsets any day.

This year we decided to get this for Kira, and Rigel seemed more than happy to pick one up at the Apple Store, much more excited than when I had mentioned him stopping by Macy's to get her that purse she'd been wanting. I was thankful, though, because it was one less thing I'd have to do, and I'm hoping for his sake and mine that this phase lasts awhile. I know that soon enough I'll be doing all the shopping again - the thought of him wandering the aisles of Sephora searching for lipgloss just seems too sad to me.

So all you dads out there with little girls, take heart. You won't always be struggling to pick out the perfect dress-up slippers or desperately trying to figure out the difference between a skirt and a skort. Soon they'll be asking for the good stuff, stuff that makes it possible for you to spend countless guilt-free hours in stores that you like while still currying the favor of your wives, and most importantly, your little consumers at home. (Sorry - spending an afternoon at Hooters because your kid likes chicken wings doesn't count.)

I've been telling Rigel to enjoy this brief period because it won't last for long. And I know that someday, when one of them sends him out at midnight to buy tampons, he'll realize just how special this time really was.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

tags: birthdays | gifts | shopping | no more dolls!

Tweet Pin It