I had a doctor’s appointment in the City this afternoon, so afterward I called Belle and offered to take her out to dinner. I picked her up and off we went to a restaurant so obviously NOT of her choice that I almost took her back home and dumped her in the doorway.

Boy, was she pissy tonight. I love you, my darling daughter, but tonight you were pissy.

It’s unusual, too; she’s usually delightful in every possible way. (Especially since she moved out of my house.) But tonight, no.

I fed her anyway, and watched her closely for signs of anything that might necessitate an emergency room visit. My baby just isn’t usually that way. She did make up for some lost time tonight, though.

After the meal she calmed down somewhat. We drove across the highway to the mall and I bought her a winter coat, which I would have done sooner if I had known about the huge hole on the side of her old coat. But not finding out till tonight did make it possible to buy one on super-sale, so that’s cool. She is now the owner of a very classy black coat. She looks, as always, elegant and quirky. Who could beat that combination? Nobody, that’s who. My daughter is the best, even when she needs to have a Pampers clamped over her mouth.

I experienced another first tonight. Belle ordered a raspberry Margarita. Neither of my children has ever drunk (gasp!!) ALCOHOL in front of me before. It actually shocked me. Not because my baby was ordering a Margarita, but because I told her it might improve her pissy disposition. Another shock was that I didn’t notice anything different until after her drink was about half gone. Then it hit me. My dinner friend drinking that raspberry Margarita was my daughter. And she was drinking it as if (GASP) it wasn’t the first time, either.

It looked really good, too. Tall and dark red, with that rim of sugar on the top. . . . .

Man, if I hadn’t been the driver. . . . .

Ahem. I am the MOTHER. I would not order a Margarita in front of a little girl.

However, I might next time in front of the beautiful young woman who dined with me tonight. Pissy as she might have been, she was, as usual, really good company. I’m glad she now has a good warm coat.

Disclaimer: I hope no one was offended by my rampant use of the word ‘pissy.’ If you were, then please restrict yourself to boring professional journals about false teeth care, money markets, politics, religious proselytizing, and the high price of Ensure.

Although, many people I know who are drinking Ensure are also pissy, and indeed are wearing the adult version of Pampers because of said condition. No offense intended to the incontinent.

Every time I sneeze, I’m closer to that lifestyle than I’d like to admit.