First Date Night With Pepa

I can remember as a little girl being so giddy and excited about date night with my Daddy.  It was always a big event!  The anticipation was beyond exciting.  If you know my Daddy then you know nothing is ever.... and I mean ever on a small scale it is always above and beyond.  Well date night never fell short of that either.  I can remember picking my favorite dress to wear and wanting to be the prettiest girl in the room.  Little did I know at the time that it didn’t matter what I wore because regardless I was always going to be his number one.  Crazy thing is at 37 years old that theory still stands true!  But it also means I will take a step back to let my daughter be his date these days.  June 7, 2018 will go down in the books as the first time in history that Sarah O’Meara Bergeron allowed another girl to be John O’s date!  And if I’m being honest I would do it again every single day for the rest of my life to watch what I witnessed tonight.  It began with about 2 weeks of talking about Leighton’s first date night with her Pepa that would consist of him picking her up (and her only) and taking her to her Mom’s favorite restaurant when she was a little girl.  That restaurant if you are wondering is “Ruth Chris” oops yes I’m sorry I have expensive taste lol.  But in my defense I didn't find it on my own, it is all because it was the exact place I had my very first date night with John O “my Daddy” many years ago!  I knew my dad was in trouble the moment I walked into the restaurant because I felt it was where I belonged; I was in my element lol.  The waiters catered to me, the service was on point and the steak came out sizzling.... which may I add is a sound I will never forget!  If you ask my parents how I acted after my first date night at Ruth Chris’s they will laugh and tell you how I bragged to anyone and everyone that would listen that I ate the entire picture on the billboard!  Lol years ago and still today the one billboard displayed for Ruth Chris’s Steakhouse was a single picture of a mouthwatering Filet Mignon!!!!  Yes it may sound crazy for a young girl to be mesmerized by that but I was lol.  So this Easter when my own daughter; Leighton, asked for steak from the Easter Bunny instead of candy I think maybe a dad knew it was time for her to experience date night for herself.  So tonight her Pepa arrived in a suit to pick her up for their very first date night.  Leighton acted shy; which shocked me at first, but then left excited in her blue dress that she insisted on wearing because blue is Pepa’s favorite color.  I loved getting pictures through the night and seeing the smiles on both of their faces!  I can’t help but giggle thinking of how high he is setting the standards for the men who come into her life years from now, just as he did for me lol. The emotions are very hard to describe as I see my little girl getting to experience these special moments with her Pepa; my Daddy, the best way to explain is it my heart is smiling beyond control.  Although she was very tight lipped about the night; she gets that from her own Dad lol, she did tell me that the next date was already planned and that it would be with spaghetti!  Honestly that is all I needed to hear because if she is already planning date #2 then she must of loved date #1!  One day she will realize how special tonight was and when she does I hope she understands in that moment why Mommy had tears running down her face.  You can’t get these moments back, you can’t replay them, sometimes they only happen once and sometimes we are blessed to get them to happen again!  She is way to young to comprehend that but that is why I am here to document them so that one day she can look back and know they occurred and know that she was beyond lucky to experience them!  I never doubted my Dad would be anything less than an amazing Grandparent, but I must admit I didn’t realize how amazing he truly was until I got to see him repeat the love he has always given to me with my kids.  To give that love once is a gift but to give it twice is a blessing!  We love you Pepa!!!!