Daddy Time

My beloved just got home from a trip to Georgia. He's been there since Monday. My wonderful, selfless mother came down to help me out while he was gone, since I was supposed to teach on Tuesday night before the three-inches-of-snow-that-shut-the-city-down arrived.  Bless her heart, even though I got to high-center my way home and play with the little angel instead of busting one of my students for plagiarism on Tuesday night. Stay tuned for news next week about that one.

Next week, I have to go to balmy Cambridge, Mass. for a business trip.  I'm sure it will be a delightful trip, because it's always fun to go to New England during the winter to discuss tax season.   

At first, I felt horror at being asked to leave the little angel overnight for the fourth time in her first ten months. The first three times were for fun - once for a baby shower in Chicago, once for a wedding in Omaha and once to go skiing - but this is the first time evil Corporate America has pointed its paycheck revolver at my feet and started shooting.  The more I thought about it, though, the more I thought it might be okay. After all, I usually hog all the fun parts of parenthood. This is not to say my beloved doesn't help - he does, better than 99% of the other fathers I have observed - but he usually does the grunt work. He wipes the bathtub out after the little angel and I have splished and splashed.  He does the laundry while the little angel and I merrily throw pop-a-blocks all over the rug.  He wipes off the highchair tray after I clap, clap, clap when the little angel shoves a peace of green bean in her mouth.  I don't mean to hog them, he just sits back and lets me take the lead.  And I do love those times - they are the most fun, the farthest from work, the best times to make her laugh that happen all day.  It's only fair he should get to have them once in a while. She adores him, and daddy-daughter time is important.

Of course, I also won't feel so horrible if he is the one that has to get up with her at two in the morning after leaving me for three days when she has a head cold.

Hey, we can't always be pure.