Daughter
&
d
a
D
Dcuns
by Patrick and J.L. Hempfing
“
“I Need A Bra!”
M
om, I need a bra.”
If I had a
son, I’d buy him
a jock strap when he needed one
and life would move on. How-
ever, bra shopping falls under
my wife’s job description. The
only problem is that Mat-
tie, my wife, and Jessie, my
10-year-old daughter, are on
opposite sides of the fence
about whether Jessie is old
enough to need one — and
poor Dad, aging way too
fast, is stuck in the middle.
Up to this point, I’ve
tried to keep a low profile and
hoped this whole topic would
blow over. However, a few
weeks ago it became clear
that it wouldn’t. Jessie went
to her room with a needle,
thread, scissors, and a pair
of cotton pants she wore as a
toddler. Grandmommy, a good
teacher, recently showed her grand-
daughter how to sew, and Jessie, a quick
study, cut the pants and sewed them into
a makeshift bra.
When Mattie came home from
work, Jessie modeled her new bra for her
mom. Mattie and I were both impressed
with her resourcefulness. Mattie, enjoy-
ing the debate, praised Jessie’s tenacity,
but told her she still didn’t need a bra.
“Mattie, we can’t let Jessie go to
school wearing a pair of pants as a bra,”
I countered. No dad wants a phone call
from the principal saying his daughter’s
sewing came undone, and she’s upset
that the pants she wore as a bra are no
32 WNY Family November 2018
longer keeping things in place.
As I drove Jessie to school
the following morning, the
bra topic came up again. Jes-
sie would also like another
dog. Just to find out how
badly she really wanted a bra,
I posed the question, “Jessie,
if you could get a new dog or
a new bra, which would you
choose?”
Jessie responded, “I’d
choose the bra, because I
have no chance for another
dog.”
I smiled at her clever
and accurate response. Then
I took my questioning one step
further. “Jessie, if I’d be willing to
buy either one, which would you
like more?”
“Dad, I’d like a Havanese
wearing lots of bras in my size …
and neon.”
So how did we resolve this differ-
ence? No, I don’t have a Havanese run-
ning around the house in neon-colored
bras.
With Mattie and Jessie still debat-
ing … and the problem growing, faster
in Jessie’s eyes than Mattie’s, there
was only one logical thing to do — ask
Grandmommy for advice. It seemed
logical to ask Mattie’s mom since her
sewing lesson got us into this predica-
ment. Not to mention, Grandmommy is
my emergency hotline and it was time,
way past time, to call.
Grandmommy talked with Jes-
sie. Then she spoke with Mattie and pro-
posed a win-win solution — a bra-shop-
ping day with her granddaughter. At
the end of their special grandmother-
granddaughter shopping excursion, Jes-
sie came bursting through the door, anx-
ious to show her mom and me the new
treasures Grandmommy purchased for
her — four colorful bras, including both
regular and sports.
Grandmommy saved the day! Mat-
tie and I were both happy that Jessie and
her grandmother had this special time
together, a shopping trip they’ll always
remember. And I’m glad the school prin-
cipal won’t be calling me.
Jessie’s perspective on the right
time to buy a bra can be summed up in
one word — Now. This answer is likely
different for each family. For mine, it
was, “When Grandmommy says so.”
Life is back to normal … with only
a few extra bras in the laundry bas-
ket. On occasion, when I fall behind
with laundry, Jessie will hand wash her
bras. She’ll sling them over the shower
curtain rod to dry. I’m just thankful she’s
not strapping them onto the dog; well,
not too many times so far.
But whether bras are drying from
the shower-curtain rod or collecting in
the laundry basket, one thing is certain
’tween daughter and dad, I love my girl
and my girl loves me.
Until next month, remember to
cherish the moments. Happy Thanksgiv-
ing! I’m thankful for all my blessings …
especially the women in my life, Jessie,
Mattie, and Grandmommy.
Patrick Hempfing had a 20-year pro-
fessional career in banking, account-
ing, and auditing before he became
a father at age 44. He is now a full-
time husband, stay-at-home dad, and
writer. Follow Patrick at http://patrick-
hempfing.com. J. L. Hempfing, now 14,
began writing with her dad in kindergar-
ten. Her current hobbies include read-
ing, writing, playing clarinet and alto
saxophone, and dancing. If you enjoyed
this column, you’ll like Patrick’s first
book, MoMENts: A Dad Holds On. The
book compiles favorite stories and new
material and is available for sale on
Amazon.