Today was really, really wonderful.
My wife and child went grocery shopping this morning, leaving me to sleep in until 11:30 a.m. Those of you who know me know how little I sleep during the week and how rarely an opportunity comes up where I can get a chance to catch up somewhat, so this was a great way to open the day. When they got home, I helped bring in the groceries and then went outside to play with Robbie with his dump truck in the gravelly area in our apartment complex's courtyard (his favorite place to play). Afterward, we all sat down to lunch together, and Kim had baked a tasty yellow cake to reward Robbie for a successful day of toilet training (you're welcome for sparing the details). Next, we all settled down for a nice afternoon nap. At around four in the afternoon, Robbie and I went back outside for more rocks and diggers while Kim got some housework done. Nearly an hour later, we came in and I got a quick break while Robbie watched Bob the Builder, so I put away some of the clean laundry. As the movie finished up, Kim went to prepare dinner, and Robbie asked if I would read a book with him.
I am not exaggerating when I say that this is the sort of day you're dreaming of when you say you want to be a father.
Of course, there's no such thing as the perfect day, so I should have been expecting it when my phone rang halfway through "My First Truck Board Book." You see, I had signed up as the "On Call" house manager for the show at work tonight, called in to duty only on the rarest of chances that something happens to the scheduled house manager OR that person simply doesn't show up and shuts off their phone. The former of those scenarios happens occasionally, the latter is really pretty rare.
But it sure did happen tonight, and suddenly I was already fifteen minutes late for work.
Suddenly, I had to change clothes and jet out the door and to the theater, and I'd be working until after both wife and child had gone to bed. Sorry, dinner-with-the-fam. Sorry, family-night-at-home. There's just no time.
I did, however, finish My First Truck Board Book before throwing on my work clothes as quickly as possible.
But man, eying your home-cooked dinner plate going back into the fridge on your way out the door borders on the heartbreaking ;-)
Really, all things told, I wasn't upset. There's always the possibility of something like this when you're on call, and I really had had a fantastic day with the family at home. Everything went smoothly at work, and a couple people pitched in to make sure I wasn't a half hour behind before I'd even walked into the theater.
Interesting, though, that in six days of blogging, this is the second instance in which an unexpected phone call radically altered my plans for the rest of the day. On Monday, it was family interrupting work. Tonight, it was work interrupting family time.
I guess it all evens out.
