It’s unusual for us to get a girls’ day out in the city. Usually, it’s in a park somewhere or a play centre nearby. But having had to be on the computer a lot of the times, I felt we could grab this chance to have some time together while hubby’s at work.

She was keen to see animals so I took her to the Sydney Wildlife Park for the afternoon. We spent two hours in there, fascinated by the local wildlife. She patted the stick insect and the lizard but refused the python (I don’t blame her, I never wanted to touch snakes myself). She especially loved the butterflies, but wouldn’t go near the glass where the five-metre croc was kept. She didn’t trust the glass to hold the croc in. After the wildlife park, we walked towards the nearby Lindt Café –one of my favourite places in the world. I’ve even composed a letter to Lindt about it:

Dear Lindt people,

I just wanted to let you know that when I found out my baby was a girl, your café came into mind.

There I was, weak and exhausted from 26 hours of labour, and already I was daydreaming about the things I wanted to do with my newborn. I had visions in my head of my future with her. It didn’t include shopping, like what most mums and daughters would do. I was thinking we could go out and see something – perhaps the zoo, the aquarium, iMax, museums and stuff – then end the day with a trip to Lindt for an afternoon of waffles. We’d relax and talk and get a sugar high before heading home.

You see, when I was in highschool, I used to stop by my father’s third work place (he used to have three jobs to get us through school) after school and stay there to watch him work. It was a daily newspaper and I loved the smell of the office. I’d observe him and go through their stock of notepads (I have a stationery addiction) while waiting for him to finish. When he’s done, even without me saying it, he’d take me to our favourite hotdog place to buy me a footlong with the works before heading home. It was our little thing.

I wanted the Lindt waffle to be my little thing with MiniMe. I want her to know that even after weeks of being on deadline, we can have our special little thing together.

When she’s older, and perhaps go through the inevitable heartache, it can be our special little place – to talk, to hang out, or just be.

So you see Lindt, you’re not just a chocolate café for us. There’s a long-term plan for your waffles, and I thank God I discovered it before I had MiniMe.

Sincerely,

K

After our trip to Lindt, we took the little train back to Harbourside to catch the tram. But after it passed by the Chinese Garden, I made an impromptu decision to jump out and see it with her since I’ve never seen the garden myself. My decision to wear the wrong footwear almost persuaded me to just go home, but I pushed past it. I love it when my heart skips a beat and her eyes light up from the excitement of her mum’s surprise decisions.

We only had 30 minutes before the garden closed for a wedding but we went in anyway. We saw the shop that hired costumes in the garden so we went in for a look. She was fascinated by the “princess outfits” and so I just had to let her do dress ups. It was only $5 to dress her up and you get to take her around the garden for a photo shoot. It was one of those moments when I wish I had one of those four-thirds cameras like the Panasonic Lumix (I couldn’t lug around my DSLR at the zoo – too heavy).

She was absolutely fascinated by her outfit. We went around for a couple of minutes to take photos. The oohs and aahs from people looking at her made my heart swell. I thought it would burst. Her personality totally changed when she put on her princess clothes. She walked more regal – like she absolutely believed she’s been transformed into a princess. We will be going back there again, and this time, I’ll be armed with my proper camera.

I loved our day. We went home absolutely exhausted – legs about to give out. We picked up pasta and pizza and went home to watch a movie together. She wanted to watch The Mummy with her mummy, so we did – only for a couple of minutes though because she desperately needed her bedtime earlier than usual.

On Sunday, we spent the day at the water park. It was such a nice day that I dozed off on the rug. She woke me up and told me to stop snoring. I’ve learned not to take that personally.

It was a perfect girls’ weekend. One of the many girls’ weekends to come.