Special Nights

Every couple of months, my dad would announce a “special night.” We’d all gather, trying to remember whose turn it was to dine out alone with him. On my turns, I remember above all else sitting quite proudly next to my daddy, feeling very special. As Daddy ordered us a heaping pile of onion rings, my worry that I couldn’t keep up a proper conversation would lessen, disappearing altogether by the second round of appetizers. Coming back home to the rest of the family, the newly strengthened father-daughter relationship must have effectively increased the overall quality of our family’s dynamics.