Dinner With Melissa and Marty

I had a very fun time with Marty, my suitor, and his 11 year-old daughter, Melissa. I met them at a Five Guys restaurant on Saturday evening. I arrived there first and took a table. When they came through the door a few minutes later I stood and waved. Marty gave me a return wave, and pointed me out to Melissa, whereupon she came bolting over to me and gave me a warm hug that made me feel very good inside. Judging by the hug, I must have gotten some good reviews. I do not think I’ve ever been hugged by a young girl since I was a young girl myself. That sounds like the answer to some sort of personal trivia question, but I think it’s kind of an interesting observation. I have no nieces, and none of my friends have daughters that age, let alone daughters that might want to hug me.

There was a funny moment just after the hug. Melissa said that she thought I was too pretty to be dating a guy like her father, and I quickly said that I thought she was too pretty to be the daughter of someone like her father. Marty got this funny expression on his face and sarcastically groaned, “Girls, come on, I’m standing right here and can hear everything you’re saying.” I’m sure glad Marty has both a sense of humor and is self-confident.

Melissa is just entering what I consider life’s most awkward age. She is into drawing things like dragons and unicorns. She showed me some of her work. She is really pretty good. But I’d bet anything that in a few years there won’t be any dragons or wolves being drawn, or anything else. She’ll probably be into having the latest awesome clothes, and being cool. A year or so beyond that and she’ll want to borrow the car. And then if everything goes right and she gets lucky, there will be college.

Geesh, I’ve met Melissa once and already I’ve got her in college. But I just gaze at her over a restaurant table and I see the possible trails that could be taken through the next few years, and some of the pitfalls along those trails. She’s a nice girl, a real cutie. I’m sure she’ll be alright.

On a totally different subject, Tuesday I went to a therapist for the Brandt–Daroff exercise to address my vertigo. I was afraid it would make me sick to my stomach with motion sickness. I was told that can happen. The exercise created some short-lived grade-A vertigo, but I felt only mild nausea. The whole visit took about 15 minutes. The exercise itself took about 5. Supposedly it will require several visits with the vertigo subsiding with each subsequent visit. Unfortunately the exercise is not guaranteed to work. I did not ask about refunds.