When Life Gives You Lemons

I was holding the arm he extended to me for appearances, and not because I was forgiving him.

This is not the party that I had planned to be at this Saturday afternoon, I thought, as I walked in to the restaurant, silent and brushing away the tears of frustration and disappointment. I had two options. 1. I could remain upset with him, or 2. I could forgive him and enjoy my "lemonade" (or at least my frozen margarita).

I was strongly leaning towards option 1, until a sweet little blonde girl hopped into my lap, excited to show me the Littlest Pet Shop toys that were stashed in her purse.

She laughed with delight as I piled the bunny, monkey and seahorse (seahorse was my favourite) in the wagon, and pushed them around the table. She laughed and laughed and laughed when I made the animals cry out stop! stop! come back! wait for me! as they fell out of the wagon. Then I made a tent for them out of a cloth napin and two table advertisment stands, and for that moment I was the coolest person in her world. Her laughter melted my heart, and I was genuinely enjoying the fact that she was having as much fun with me as I was with her.

It was then that I realised if it had not been for the change in plans, I would have missed out on those special moments with her. So I pressed my cheek against her baby-soft hair, gave her a little squeeze, and looked at her brother, who was smiling at me.

No, it was not where I had planned to be, but aparently it was where Life wanted me to be.