The Apple doesn't Fall Far from the Tree

It isn’t often that I see myself in Frankie. Mostly I see her daddy. It has been this way since the first time I laid eyes on her. She has his complexion, his eyes, face shape and his love for Star Wars. However, as time progresses, I am starting to notice subtle things here and there that remind me of my mom…so really, it must be me. She doesn’t have my rhythm, or my fashion sense, those are Shayne. There are a few things she does have of mine, my sense of humor and love of food. She also has my outgoing personality.

Frankie doesn’t have a hard time making friends, or just striking up a conversation with people. She will make friends with adults and kids alike. For instance, we went to the park around 10:00 AM the other day in hopes that we would leave by 12 noon when the heat starts to become unpleasant. She had been playing with a little girl that she knew from ballet that we just happened to run into at the park. Shortly after, her mother told her that it was time to leave because it was getting too hot. At which point I told Frankie I was setting the timer for 15 minutes. The timer is a great tool for Frankie, she will usually respond well if I set a timer. Well on this particular day, she wanted to resist when it was time to leave. After asking 3 times, I told her I was leaving to go have lunch and then ice cream and I would be back to pick her up after that. I walked away and hid behind a pillar thinking it wouldn't be long before she was running after me. I waited .... When I didn’t see her, I peeked my head around the pillar to see where she was, and she was still on the spinning play equipment. She wasn’t spinning anymore, instead she was facing a couple of moms sitting on a bench. I watched and waited a little longer. Soon I realized that she was not coming towards me at all, and I needed to go over and tell her again that it was time to leave. When I walked over, I said “it looks like you called my bluff.” To which one of the moms said, “she sure did!” Apparently, she had turned to them and said, “I don't know how many times my mom has told me she is leaving me, but she never does.” Honestly, I laughed, and I stood there proud. I am so glad that she is confident in the fact that I will never leave her.

Still every day I see some new developments that I didn’t notice before. She will either do something or say something that I recognize as something I might say or do. Most recently she loves to pretend she is cooking me something to eat. She will ask me what I would like to eat, then give me a list of choices. I will choose something, and she will go to her play kitchen and fix it. The joy I find in cooking has grown so much since I have a family that truly enjoys my meals. I cook most of our meals at home. Considering I work part time for Home - JAX Cooking Studio, there are some nights that I come home from cooking all day and I don’t feel like being in the kitchen anymore, so we will go out to our favorite neighborhood restaurant Pho Viet Restaurant – Authentic Vietnamese Cuisine (phovietjax.com).

I have been eating Pho at this restaurant since I moved to Jacksonville almost 15 years ago. The food is healthy, delicious and the owner Miss. Lu is like family. She has put 3 of her children through college with the profits from this restaurant. Honestly, I can’t think of any other place I would rather spend my money. Frankie has been eating Pho from Lu since she was in my belly, sometimes twice a day. It is no surprise that Frankie loves to eat there as well. Even when we are out eating, Frankie picks up on things that I will notice later down the road and think, “WOW” she remembers that. I have a ritual or system for eating my Pho. I always order extra herbs and bean sprouts on the side. I don’t just put my herbs in my soup, I tear them. It then helps release some of the oils and helps impart more of the herb flavor into the soup. That small step did not get by my little foodie, in fact, while she was making me some “Pho noodles” in the backyard one afternoon and I noticed that she was using some of my flowers and potted plants for the soup. She tore the leaves before putting them in the “soup”. I can tell you this, had that been the real deal, It would have been some of the best Pho ever! As I pretended to eat the soup, I said, “Frankie, this Pho is better than Pho Viet.” She replied, “don’t worry, I won’t tell Miss Lu, I don’t want to hurt her feelings.” That is when I learned that she has also picked up on the importance of being compassionate.