I'm still trying to envision the looks on everyone's faces.
Last night, I met my wife and our two-year-old daughter for dinner after work. I met them in the parking lot, and when they got out of the car and I was greeting them, my wife told our daughter Grace to tell me the exciting news.
"My mommy get my daddy a tie!" she proclaimed. My wife Julie had told me she was going to pick me up a tie for our holiday party date this weekend, so while this was marginally exciting, it wasn't really news.
"That's great!" I said. "That's so great!"
"And what else, Grace?" Julie prompted her.
"Me get my daddy a tie too!" Grace cried, beaming.
"You did? Wow," I said, "two ties!"
"Yes," Grace continued, "Me steal my daddy a tie!" She was so happy.
"That's right," said Julie, "Grace stole a tie for you."
"What do you mean she stole a tie?" I asked.
They'd gone to Nordstrom Rack together to pick out a tie earlier that day. Julie had found one she liked, bought it, then loaded Grace back into the car and drove to her parents' house. While saying their hellos, Julie pulled the tie from her bag and showed it to her parents. As her parents admired it, Grace reached into her backpack, exclaiming, "Me get my daddy a tie too!" and surprised them all by pulling out a beautiful, patterned, silk tie.
I can't decide if I'm more touched by my daughter's thoughtfulness, or astonished at how easily innocence can lead one to trouble. I will not end this story with a pun.