Mr. Mom Chronicles 18: How Spoiled I Am

With Kathy off to exotic locations once again, this time Richmond, Virginia for the Association of Presbyterian Church Educators Board meeting, I am reminded once again how spoiled I am. More on that later, now let me recall yesterday.

Granted, things went pretty for the first couple of hours. We all got up around 5 a.m. on Monday, got Kathy out to the Twin Falls airport and then after a little more sleep and breakfast Eric successfully made it to the bus and I had a very relaxing day at home. I managed to do just about nothing which felt really good. About the only thing I did get done was a sketch of a Star Wars the Clone Wars storm trooper design for a stained glass piece that Eric has been asking for for some time.

Unfortunately Eric did not have such a good day. It seems he cannot wait until recess to tell his neighbors all sorts of things. And since he doesn't text yet he simply leans over and starts talking in the middle of lessons. That he was put on yellow light and then red light means that he had to do it and get caught not once, not twice but at least three times; not to mention the times he wasn't caught. And to top it all off, when he got home, after watching a little TV he announced to me that he thought he had to fart, but something more came out! Not only was he off his norm at school, but then to have an accident, it serves me right for thinking this would be a smooth week. So the punishment at home was that as soon as the pre-game show for Monday Night football came on ESPN his shows went off and mine went on. That and it was to bed early, though he's got me reading Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban a chapter a night so even though he went to bed at 7 p.m. I did not leave the room until 7:50!

So why am I so spoiled? Well, most every morning Kathy takes care of things around the house so I don't really have to turn on my brain until after I've showered, dressed, driven to church and made a pot of coffee. But not when Kathy's gone. Oh no. Now I have to get up early enough to get Eric showered, dressed, groomed, fed, lunch made, etc. And if any one thing goes a little off I'm not the most warm and cuddly dad, since I'm not used to the routine that Kathy and Eric have.

So the result today? I couldn't figure out how to get the blasted top off of the homemade apricot jam for Eric's school lunch. And in my frustration in thinking that I needed an engineering degree to remove the lid from the jar so I could make a PB & J sandwich I somehow managed to drop the plastic jar into the sink and break it! And of course Eric doesn't want hot lunch and he doesn't like grape jam, so he had to settle for peanut butter and honey sandwich. I'm sure I'll hear about that this afternoon.

So why am I so spoiled. In a nutshell, Kathy smooths out my day so I have very little to worry about other than church stuff. So as usual when she goes away I am very grateful for how much Kathy does that I rarely see or acknowledge. She sure is a strong person to put up with doing so much and going so unrecognized. Thank you Kathy!