The little girl came rushing in the house after the school bus dropped her off. She was wearing her little pink back pack with the unicorn decorations on it. She was excited and wanted her mother's attention immediately as all little children did. To a small child their needs and wants are the most important things to them. Everything and everyone else could wait.

"Why don't you sit at the table and I'll fix you a snack," her mother said. "Then you can tell me everything that happened at school today."

The mother started fixing a — peanut butter and jelly sandwich for her. The mother and daughter talked about the daughter's day while fixing the sandwich. Mom heard all about "the best friend" Suzie, the "mean boy" Johnny who teased her all the time. Mom figured it was the first childhood crush. She knew that these "crushes" were just beginning because her daughter was a little goddess with her blond hair and blue eyes. The child had her father's features. The same features that caused Mom to fall head over heels in love the first time they met.

Because of the animated way the daughter talked, Mom kept the glass of milk on the counter to prevent an accident. When the daughter started winding down, Mom asked, "Do you want your milk yet?"

The little blond head nodded "yes" because her mouth was too full to talk. Those PB&J sandwiches were just the best and couldn't be slowly eaten. They had to be gobbled.

Of course Mom, as mothers all over do, cautioned her to "eat slowly", "take smaller bites", and "swallow before taking another bite." But then mom liked the few extra minutes of quiet brought about by the full mouth. They would be the last moments of the peace and quiet until a certain blond whirlwind went to bed.

Mom usually sat on the porch after her daughter went to bed, weather permitting, and slowly sipped her wine, letting her day wind down and her mind clear. Tomorrow was another day to face and new problems to conquer. Life was not kind to Mom, she sometimes wished, when she watched her daughter, that she had her childhood back. Life was so much easier without the bill paying, and the other tribulations found in an adult's life.

The small child suddenly grabbed her milk off the counter, scaring the Mom half out of her mind, and started drinking. When the little girl finally cleared her snack from her mouth she said, "Mom, I almost forgot." And she rushed off to her abandoned backpack, dropped by the kitchen door upon entry. I have a note from Mrs. Perkins for you.

Dread filled Mom's stomach as she imagined the worse. "What did this precious little child do that was so terrible that it warranted a "note"? was the first thought in her mind.

That thought quickly fled upon Mom seeing that the: "note" was actually a flyer printed too many times on the Xerox copier in the office at school. It was a copy of a copy of a copy, ad infinitum, with all the attending lines burned into the product and the faded text. Her daughter quickly dropped it on the table and rushed upstairs to change into her "play" clothes. Her little friends were starting to gather outside in front of the house.

Mom read the poster's heading, "Daddy's Day." Mom knew she'd need to convince her daughter to stay home that day. As Mom read the flyer, she noticed that the special day was next week. She had only four days to convince her off spring to stay home that day.

That night Mom started her campaign.

It took the four days almost no time to fly by and Mom found herself in her daughter's bedroom putting that little blond hair up in a pony tail (her favorite), a certain special pink dress (again her favorite). The dress was even tied with a great big pink bow.

Mom looked at her daughter with both pride and sorrow. Today was "Daddy's Day" and the small child couldn't wait to attend.

"Maybe you should stay home today," Mom said.

She was met with a dirty look.

"Maybe the other kids won't understand why you're alone," she added.

"Mom! I know exactly what to tell them," the daughter countered.

Mom still didn't want her child to face this day alone so she offered, "Can I come with you?"

"No Mom. It's Daddy Day. You can come on Mommy's Day."

The conversation came to a halt as one of her daughter's friend yelled from the kitchen. Mom was driving the kids to school today. As Mom was walking to the car she worried, "What will she tell the kids about the Dad who never calls or visits?"

The girls squirmed and giggled all the way to school. The mom worried.