April 11, 2002 - Thursday
I arrived home from the airport about 45 minutes before it was time to get Harry from daycare early this afternoon and so went to get him. Jeremy didn't really seem all that excited that I was home, the same as Harry when he was that age I guess, but I was pretty sure Harry would be surprised to see me this time, although I didn't really know what type of reaction I'd get. It might have been super excitement actualized by manic running about the daycare showing me all the toys he'd played with for the day or perhaps the last four days. It could have been coy, pretending it didn't matter that I'd been gone for so long. It could have been running and screaming "daddy, daddy, daddy." What it was, however, was as best as it could have been: simple, sincere joy. Harry saw me and said, "daddy," in a mild and surprised voice. Then, he quickly got down from the sofa where he was listening to a story, headed straight toward me, again saying, "daddy," but now an even growing smile. I hugged him and picked him up and his smile, and my smile I'm sure, just continued to grow. I noticed he was smiling the whole car ride home.

Of course, Harry had plenty of day left to be coy. At bedtime, he sent me from the room, demanding instead the newly rediscovered pleasures of his mother singing and talking to him in the dark.


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