There is the quote from a movie that I’ve seen a hundred times. Let me set it up for you:
Two friends are talking and the one friend mentions the others friend’s husband.
“Oh but don’t you have to get back to Joe?” says the friend not wanting to keep her longer than she should.
“No. No. It’s good for him to be with the kids when they’re coming down from the sugar. He usually loads them up and then they go through detox on my shift.”
Ha. Ha. I laugh every time.
Sorry. Had a moment there.
So the other day I had to head South to help my mom prepare for Care and Eric’s baby shower. I left Clare with Andrew.
The sight of me leaving the two of them was hilarious. You’ve seen it. I kissed Clare a million times until she started fussing at me to get off of her. I told Andrew, “Now, if she does this I always try this first and then that and then I cross my heart and hope to die and twirl around and whistle. Did you get that? Cause it’s really important that you do all that before you even TRY to put her to sleep.”
“Val, GO!”
“OK, ok. I’m leaving. Are you sure you’re gonna be ok?”
“YES! GO!” said Andrew.
As I drove away I pictured Andrew holding Clare at arms length and her screaming her head off and giving him a heck of a time. I have no idea why. He’s always done so well with her before. I guess I wanted to feel needed…important.
Well…not only did Andrew do well. He took Clare to the Inner Harbor in Baltimore!
What the heck!?
That’s so fun! I wanted to go.
I would have been like, “Oh…I’ll just stay home so Clare can take a nap in her bed and so she doesn’t get too overworked and blah, blah, blah.
Heck! I could have been taking her all over this wide earth and here I’ve been staying at home to protect her because I thought that’s what she wanted. BAH!
Look at that girl. Free as a bird. Happy as a lark on the top of the world….
with her Daddy.
Not to mention she slept like a rock that night.
I love how “coming down off the sugar” for my kid is really coming down off the thrill of adventure.
Bed By Day 
I love reading your stories…..Gary was a very hands on daddy. When I went back to work (very part time) he would put Joel on his back and off they went, took the train into Boston, went to Fenway Park where Joel saw his first Red Sox game before he was even ONE. They went to museums, visited people.
Daddy’s are the play dates 🙂
Is that quote from the movie Return to Me? Minnie Driver was in it. If it was that is my all time favorite movie. I laugh (and cry) every time I watch it.
gracehasbobsdesadwifesheart. ::gasp::
you me same again. every time–EVERY time–I leave sam and liam together, I come home to the happiest lad I’ve ever seen. they always have so much fun together. I love having a dad around.
Wow what a fun time! Too bad for my kiddo’s if they are left home with daddy that means mommy has THE car so they are not going anywhere.
I blame you for my undying love for that movie, and that i literally sob/gag through the whole thing. And that line is my particular fave.
Yay for dad time! Isn’t it funny how we think that if everything doesn’t happen exactly as we do it, it is somehow ‘wrong’? And woohoo for adventures! I love it!
Can we come to the inner harbor with you sometime?
The longer I am a parent, the more I realize how grateful I am that my kids have a Mom and Dad to care for them. Time with Dad is so important and I love the balance and perspective they bring to life. I love that in general they don’t multitask and they play in a way I would never even think of. True, I typically come home to find the house messier and dishes from dinner not put away, but I am grateful for the time I had out and the time of fun my kids had with their Dad. So glad Clare also has a super daddy!
Girl, is that quote from Return to Me? That is seriously my favorite movie!
Return to me?