Second Saturday of my single parent life means today is the day I get to do the work I will never get paid for. But it has to be done so I start my workday at 9 am. The kids entertain themselves so I'm left to clean, clean, clean. This is more spring cleaning than anything else, but it is going to be so worth it.
Around three in the afternoon, we decide to hit the local ice cream shop that has reopened to the nice weather. The kids sucker me into buying a medium sized cone for each of them. I haven't spent much time with them today, so to compensate for my lack of time, I buy their love with an extra scoop of frozen sugared cream. There's no way they are gonna eat the mountain of sugar so we get an accompanying bowl so I don't have to do more cleaning in the car afterwards.
We bring the car to the car wash and give it a soapy shower to surprise our Queen upon her arrival. Then we slip over to the grocery store to pick up some bathroom cleaner. Nothing smells better than a clean bathroom. Gotta show mommy that we've worked hard while she was away.
But before we can get the bathroom cleaner, the boy declares that he has too much ice cream. Luckily I didn't buy any for me. His scoop and a half has become my treat for working so hard today. But it means I have to eat it before we go inside or the dog, who we've brought along for our adventure, will surely eat it or spill it. So we spend five minutes in the parking lot, while I devour the left over sugar cream. While in the car, our daughter and I realize that sugar has affected the boy more than usual. He is bouncing from one seat to another and he's not listening. Going into the grocery store was interesting. He was grabbing things off the shelves like a two year old. I was constantly reminding him to keep up or put that back or don't touch that.
Getting back to the car after purchasing the needed supplies, our daughter immediately opens the door to an awaiting, happy puppy, who decides that she's not going to be locked up for another second. She escapes the vehicle and runs around the car to greet me on the driver's side. Luckily, she doesn't run around the parking lot and also as lucky there wasn't any traffic at the moment of her escape. Worried, I pick up the dog and jump back into the car. Another close call...
Then as we're leaving the parking lot, the boy asks if I will play hockey with him. I explain to him that I have to make supper first. I'm tired. I'm losing my patience and I'm hungry. The trinity of potential pissed off-ness. Then he activates the trinity by saying, "Well this is just another junk day."
I lost it on him asking where ice cream, playing with the water hose, getting his bike out and some of the other little things we did ranked on his junk day. He never said a word the rest of the way home. About an hour later, he came to see me and sincerely apologized. This is the second apology I've received from my children since the Queen started cruising South America. I'm liking this new attitude. His little remark lost his hockey viewing priveleges, so he was working hard to get them back.
In the end, he got them back. Remember, I just want to be a good dad. I made my point. And we'll all friends again.
The rest of the night was great. No other issues. We did play a bit later that night.
I put in a big day. Don't want to say what I did in case the Queen reads the blog.
The puppy got another kennel night. She's getting frustrated with her nightly prison. Tonight she started whining and scratching at the door when I was putting the kids to bed. No patience to outlast the painful cries of a lonely dog, I put the kennel in the garage. It's not that cold anymore. If she wants to pull this spoiled dog crap, she can do it where no one will here her.
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