Pool party.....

Another one of the increasingly popular mid-week parties today, this time a pool party. The wife is a huge fan of these working hour kids' parties because she has the perfect excuse not to attend - work. I, on the other hand, fulfill my role as driver and chaperon and dutifully collect daughter from school and take her to said party, having already been and bought present and card.

As it turned out this wasn't a bad party. The party was outside and I'm a sweater. If it's hot I perspire. But today it was so hot that everyone was in the same boat which I found to be a refreshing experience in a sadistic kind of way, rather than be the only one with dark patches of moisture showing through.

Unlike the weekend parties where both parents are generally in attendance this one was almost exclusively female, with me being one of a two male minority (I was also the only Brit there). So while the daughter frolicked in the play area and in the pool I was left chatting to the only other male and of course a good number of the scantily clad and mostly attractive mothers. Being a house dad does have its advantages.

I think today was the start of a new stage of development for the daughter. Unlike previous parties where she's tended to mostly cling to me like a lovesick limpet, today she struck out on her own and spent most of the time playing with her mates. There were definite signs of a growing Independence. This is doubly surprising given that over the last few days she's made a point of looking me in the eyes and telling me, "I will never leave you daddy, I'll always be with you". No idea what's brought this on but, touching though it is, I pointed out that one day she'll be a teenager with an attitude and the mere sight of me will embarrass her. She's not convinced.

Pool party.....