Miranda Time

It's spring break for students at the California School for the Deaf and I'm currently between jobs, so today and tomorrow I'm spending "quality time" with my Miranda. We had planned to go to Santa Rosa to the Charles Schulz Museum and then out to Bodega Bay (where "The Birds" was filmed), but I learned that the "Peanuts" museum is actually closed today and it was much too windy to enjoy a day on the coast.

So we changed our plans and decided to lunch in Fremont at The Elephant Bra...my dyslexic attempt at humor...(Are you now picturing a pachyderm with a Playtex cross-your-heart braissere or just the image of a huge bra?) Miranda and I were seated in the exact same booth Terence and I sat at the last time I went to this restaurant.

The waitress was a sweetheart and used some basic signs with Miranda when she ordered a salad with chicken. We find this in Fremont often. Service people are used to dealing with the Deaf Community. Unfortunately, half-way through her salad Miranda discovered a dark black hair in it and showed the server. She immediately offered to get Miranda something else or take it off the bill. Miranda asked for sweet potato fries, which were promptly served. The chicken salad was taken off the bill and the sweet potato fries weren't added on. When I asked the waitress to add the fries on, she said, "No, it's okay with my manager." So our bill for lunch came to $7.95 as I was only charged for my patty melt.

As we walked to the car, I thanked Miranda for the cheap lunch. She laughed. Then we drove to San Jose to visit with my friend John and to see his two 18-month-old twins. Miranda fell asleep in the car and confessed she wasn't feeling well when we arrived. She stayed in the car for an hour while I visited.

Next stop was Santana Row, a upscale shopping destination that Miranda had never been to and I thought she'd like to window shop at. Revived from her nap, she thought it was cool and said it reminded her of Sweden. We spent an hour there, with our final stop at Ben & Jerry's for some ice cream. As we ate, I asked my daughter if she remembered visiting the Ben & Jerry's factory in Vermont when she was young. She did not recall it, beyond watching our family movies of it. She reminded me that she was only two or three years old at the time. Was that really 15 years ago? Ugh.

We came home and Miranda spent most of the evening in old room reading...and though there wasn't a lot of interaction, I liked having her around. You forget how much you miss somebody, I think, because it makes it easier to live on...But when they come back, even for one night it reminds you of the way it used to be... In 4 months, she will be officially an adult and off to Gallaudet University on the other side of the continent. In the words of Charlie Brown, "Good grief!" Looking forward to another day with my girl tomorrow.