August 14, 2003 - Thursday
Today turned out to be pretty much a day off for dad and it couldn't have come at a better time. Through a series of coincidences, the boys' mother was home from work and able to pick them up from school and take them to the library in the afternoon. Then, with the first relatively dry day in two to three weeks, I really had to mow the lawn before and after dinner.

But, the details of the day don't really matter. What happened was that I didn't have to hustle two boys out of the house in the morning by myself, I didn't have to think about what to do with them in the afternoon, I didn't have to entertain them, and I didn't have to adjust less savory behavior or settle sibling disputes or scold. I got a surprise break from the daily grind at a time when it's been grinding a little harder lately. Why? I don't really know. Maybe it's Jeremy being a pre-two year-old and whining a lot more these days. Maybe it's Harry learning silly behavior from schoolmates. Maybe it's me, frustrated by work and not getting enough done. Maybe it's a combination of frustrations that together brought less of the absolutely necessary patience to parenting this week. Mercifully, today I didn't have to bring much of anything.


Comments, Opinions?