Going Anyway

Right Decison

Saturday, May 20

I had to finish up some more school work today, and by ten, Ava knew it was better to not bug me. I snap a lot when I'm stressed and don't have my work done. I told her to go watch Netflix, so she ended up watching Switched At Birth. Whoops. I know I should probably be more concerned about what goes into that girl's mind, but I know the schools teach that stuff, and I also know other girls her age are probably watching that kind of stuff anyway.

I just got new tires like a month ago, and my rear passenger tire is leaking, so I also had to get that looked at today because we're going on a long road trip in 12 days. Ava was so bored by eleven o'clock, so I took her with me. We walked across the street from the tire place to grab some lunch, even though it was raining out.

"Steven," Ava said when we were sitting down, eating our shrimp, "why didn't the tire people get it right the first time?"

"I probably just ran over a nail or something. It's probably not their fault."

"Why don't they just make perfect tires? I mean, it's 2017. They can do better, can't they?"

I laughed a little. "Oh, sweetheart," I said, "you have no idea what goes into making a tire."

"It's round, and it needs to move. It's that simple, right?"

I took a bite of my shrimp, trying to see the world from her simplified eyes. "Nothing is perfect, but that's what keeps life interesting, I guess."

She took a bite of her shrimp. I could tell by the look in her eyes she was going to try to convince me of something before she even opened her mouth to say, "Can I have your old iPhone, even though it's not perfect?"

I love how I convinced her to not want a brand new one. For the last couple weeks, she's been talking about taking my old iPhone when we get up to Iowa. It's a lot cheaper than buying her an iPhone 7 Plus in Rose Gold.

"I will see what I can do."

"I want a really cool case for it."

"What kind of case?"

She thought about this for a moment. "I want one that won't crack my phone, but I need it to be pink. And it needs to have glitter."

"You need it to be pink?" I took a sip of my water. "And it needs glitter?"

"Yes, sir."

"How many times do I have to tell you I wasn't an officer?" I smirked at her crossing my arms, leaning back in my chair. I wasn't very hungry, so I didn't eat all of my lunch.

"I think you should go back into the Army just so I can call you 'sir', okay?"

I shook my head. "They wouldn't allow that because a single parent isn't allowed to join."

"Really? Would you have stayed in it if it wasn't for me?"

I hate these questions. I thought about this. "I don't know, but I can tell you that I would choose you over anything else." I said that with confidence, and that was the moment I realized I have made the right decision to move to Iowa. What's best for her is best for me.

And yes, I think we can get her a protective AND glittery phone case in pink.