Two thirds of the way there. When my kids were babies, just when I got too comfortable with a situation, they would change the rules to mess me all up. All kids are like that. Get used to them crawling around and then they start walking. Get used to getting up with them every four hours and then they sleep through the night.
Ten days into my new found comfort zone and my daughter woke up with a sore throat. It looks like a cold may be making its way through her body. It shouldn't be a surprise since she's come home three times without a coat in 6 degree weather.
I remember once I went to the Caribbean in January and all the Canadians were swimming in what the locals thought was cold water. The locals were all wearing light jackets and long pants, while we were running around shirtless.
I thought I was going to get a whiny girl who may try to take a day off school. I tried to give her echinacea but she was scared to swallow the mammoth cylinder. She wouldn't swallow it but instead wanted to chew it like gum. The look on her face was not surprising. Chasing the herbal taste with a litre of water, she vowed never to take another herbal pill again.
She took extra long to get ready this morning. Her bored brother decided to shoot some hoops instead of waiting. Insisting that everyone wear a jacket, two upset kids dragged their feet and wasted their time while I impatiently waited in the car with the dog.
15 minutes late, we showed up to the factory to drop off the little workers.
Kids were great at supper. Another night lacking in the "idontlikes". I'm loving this new attitude. I'm wondering if it's because I'm such a great cook or if they are just being nice.
Our son asked if he could stay up late to watch the hockey game tonight. Playoffs start tonight and he's a bit a hockey nut. Agreeing to let him watch the game on the one condition that he take a nap from six until eight pm, he happily skips upstairs to change into his pyjamas.
Once I got him to bed, I came downstairs and couldn't find our daughter. She wasn't upstairs because I just came from there. She wasn't in the kitchen, tv room or livingroom. She never goes to the basement so I wondered where she was hiding. The only way I stay ahead of these kids is by preparing supper a night in advance. So I go out to the garage to get hamburg from the freezer for tomorrow night's meal.
To my amazement, our daughter is playing outside. To understand this better, this girl doesn't like fresh air. In the summertime, when we're flopping around the pool, she stays inside to read. When we ride our bikes, she watches tv. She NEVER goes outside on her own. But she's outside and no one asked her to go. She's wearing a sweater but it's not zipped up. Her cold is about to get worse, but I'm so happy to see her outside. I told my mom what happened. She thinks our daughter is starting to miss her mom.
Concerned about a mini depression settling in, I ask my beautiful daughter why she went outside on her own. Turns out she's not depressed. I asked her to unplug from all electronics before supper. She was bored and didn't want to read, so she went outside to chalk up the asphalt. If that's all it takes, I learned a new strategy for this summer.
Waking the boy up at eight pm, he confirms that he didn't sleep much. I might pay dearly for this decision tomorrow. He is happy and that makes me feel like I'm a good dad. Together we watch our beloved Montreal Canadiens win game one of the NHL playoffs. The game took a little more time to complete because of all the scoring and penalties in the second period. With 11 pm approaching, I was worried that there would be overtime. The game could go into the early morning. Prepping my son that after the third period, he would have to go to bed despite the score, it didn't look like I was going to get any pushback. He was lying into my chest, ready for bed. But he couldn't take his eyes of the television.
At 11 pm, we went to sleep and as I close my eyes, the only thing I pray for is that I don't get a grumpy kid the next morning. Only time will tell....
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