Both Deanna and I work in demanding jobs. I often leave the house prior to 5:30 a.m. in order to bill enough hours and still make it home to relieve the nanny by 6. Deanna takes the opposite shift, leaving when the nanny arrives at 8:45 a.m. and often working late or after the kids go to bed in order to get her work done.
While our work schedules frequently leave us wishing we had more time with the kids, I am sometimes amazed at how much we can fit into the time we do have. Tonight, for example, I got home about 6. Deanna called from the office to inform me that she would be arriving home after bedtime and that it was the night to pick up the food we had ordered through Owen’s (now former) Catholic preschool. I changed my clothes, got the boys shoed and the twins plugged into the stroller and we set off down the block.
On the way, Owen kept up a constant stream of chatter. Over the course of our walk we talked about why leaves turn brown on branches that fall off trees, which roofs we would be scared to stand on (consensus, third floor is too high to be hanging out on the roof!), what car companies DON’T make gas-hogging giant SUVs (i.e. Porsche, Saturn, etc.), the price of gas, and why different kites need different amounts of wind to fly. We lamented the passing of our local coffee shop (abruptly closed down due to a lack of business), marveled at the tallness of particular trees, decided to refer to our kick-ass Graco double-stroller as a Graco Turbo to give it a bit more cache, speculated about which houses we might consider moving to, discussed why guys using jack hammers wear so much protective gear (and consequently look like bugs), chatted about my old summer job during college at a municipal wastewater treatment plant, argued about how many banks are in town, and kicked around a bunch more things I am sure I have forgotten.
We picked up the food from the school (all frozen), ordered food for takeout at the local Bohemian restaurant, spent a bit sitting next to the railroad tracks for a premium view of trains going by, and made it back home where we gorged ourselves on breaded pork tenderloin, dumplings, potato pancakes, cooked carrots, beef noodle soup and apple sauce. After hosing down the dining area, I herded everyone upstairs for baths. Baths were followed by a lot of crazy running, with the twins popping their little heads around corners and yelling “boo” as loud as they could. Owen set up a race course using red blankets and a checkered flag, and drew large numbers on paper which he proceeded to tape to everyone's backs like we were running a marathon. The twins were finally wrestled into bed by 8:30 or so.
Deanna arrived home and she, Owen and myself took in a bit of a PBS show on Great Lodges of North America which in turn caused us to explain to Owen what a lodge is (tougher than it sounds, really, even if we certainly know a lodge when we see it. I was surprised to find myself winging this one a bit, as opposed to, say, my aforementioned concise and scientifically accurate exposition on kite sizes and wind speeds) and to explain what a glacier is. All in all, not a bad way to spend three hours.
While our work schedules frequently leave us wishing we had more time with the kids, I am sometimes amazed at how much we can fit into the time we do have. Tonight, for example, I got home about 6. Deanna called from the office to inform me that she would be arriving home after bedtime and that it was the night to pick up the food we had ordered through Owen’s (now former) Catholic preschool. I changed my clothes, got the boys shoed and the twins plugged into the stroller and we set off down the block.
On the way, Owen kept up a constant stream of chatter. Over the course of our walk we talked about why leaves turn brown on branches that fall off trees, which roofs we would be scared to stand on (consensus, third floor is too high to be hanging out on the roof!), what car companies DON’T make gas-hogging giant SUVs (i.e. Porsche, Saturn, etc.), the price of gas, and why different kites need different amounts of wind to fly. We lamented the passing of our local coffee shop (abruptly closed down due to a lack of business), marveled at the tallness of particular trees, decided to refer to our kick-ass Graco double-stroller as a Graco Turbo to give it a bit more cache, speculated about which houses we might consider moving to, discussed why guys using jack hammers wear so much protective gear (and consequently look like bugs), chatted about my old summer job during college at a municipal wastewater treatment plant, argued about how many banks are in town, and kicked around a bunch more things I am sure I have forgotten.
We picked up the food from the school (all frozen), ordered food for takeout at the local Bohemian restaurant, spent a bit sitting next to the railroad tracks for a premium view of trains going by, and made it back home where we gorged ourselves on breaded pork tenderloin, dumplings, potato pancakes, cooked carrots, beef noodle soup and apple sauce. After hosing down the dining area, I herded everyone upstairs for baths. Baths were followed by a lot of crazy running, with the twins popping their little heads around corners and yelling “boo” as loud as they could. Owen set up a race course using red blankets and a checkered flag, and drew large numbers on paper which he proceeded to tape to everyone's backs like we were running a marathon. The twins were finally wrestled into bed by 8:30 or so.
Deanna arrived home and she, Owen and myself took in a bit of a PBS show on Great Lodges of North America which in turn caused us to explain to Owen what a lodge is (tougher than it sounds, really, even if we certainly know a lodge when we see it. I was surprised to find myself winging this one a bit, as opposed to, say, my aforementioned concise and scientifically accurate exposition on kite sizes and wind speeds) and to explain what a glacier is. All in all, not a bad way to spend three hours.
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