Sunday got off to way too early of a start for me. I woke up at 2 AM, got back to sleep sometime after 4, and he then woke me up a little before 5. Sleep is essential in handling my son for the day, so I knew things were going to be rough.
Still, an awesome start to the day. He was in a great mood. We checked out the moon, had some breakfast, and then cruised down to St. Pete again. Today, instead of walking with both of them, I was going to run with both of them. I had two hands, I had two beasts to care for. I’d never gone for a real run with them before, but hey, might as well try to experiment with Mom out of town.
It was pretty great. I got admiring looks and smiles from everyone that we passed by. They thought I was some sort of superhero whose only focus was on raising his dog and child in the best way possible. We were cruising, and unlike the day before, we all remembered to go to the bathroom beforehand. I felt so great that I decided to go longer than planned, because the world was smiling down on us.
This was not the best idea. Unfortunately, I have a dog with zero will and determination when it comes to running. She loves running on the way out with a big ol’ smile on her face as she cruises along, but on the way back, when things start to get a little tough, she just puts the brakes on. Although a Dad smoothly running with his child and dog looks pretty cool, a Dad slowly trotting while pushing a stroller in front of him and dragging a dog behind him as he shouts encouragement does not look as cool. At least those people had a good chuckle at my predicament.
After we got home and ate, I decided to let him pick the next adventure. I figured he’d want to go to the park, but as the other option, I offered flea market. He has no idea what a flea market is, but man did he want to find out. This was likely not my best idea as there were multiple places to buy things like this.
Although it is always wise to get a warranty with your stun gun purchase, I wasn’t sure if that was the best present for a two-year-old. We did find some toy monster trucks, but I couldn’t find where to buy them, and I didn’t feel like going to the clink for a $5 toy. Overall, I learned that swinging big can backfire as he was none too pleased with his experience. I probably should have just gotten him the stun gun.
I thought I could salvage it with a park, but this was a disaster too. I found a cool looking park nearby, but it was $2 to get in. Usually, I would have turned around as I don’t pay for parks, but he was pretty adamant that he start running around, so I paid the $2 and drove into the park. The issue was that it rained hard the night before, so when we get out of the car, I realize that I have a major issue. There are bugs everywhere. He’s running around on the playground, but I have two choices, neither of which is good. I can stay, let him play, have both of us get bit up and deal with the consequences later, or pack him up against his will and not have to deal with Itchy McGee the rest of the day. I figured the latter was the lesser of two evils, although it did not seem that way at the time.
The other issue that we ran into was that it was just a dreary day. Considering I live in the Sunshine State, I want sunshine on demand, but no matter how loudly both of us demanded sunshine, it was not to be, and it never cleared up enough for us to waste an hour in the pool. Instead, we were cranky and stuck inside. It was not a great combination. The only brief moment of happiness was when he got to open another one of Mommy’s love-you-loops, and he was able to hunt down a car buried in the cushion of a chair in the kitchen.
We struggled our way to nap time, and he didn’t get as good of a nap as I would have liked. He woke up angry, I didn’t have my normal level of patience. He was throwing things, I wanted to throw him, and we just couldn’t get in sync for a few hours. The last couple hours we at least came to an understanding. We weren’t as happy as we could be, but we were accepting of the situation we were in. As I laid him to rest, I promised him that he could open his last love-you-loop first thing in the morning, because he had been asking it ever since he got his car earlier in the day.
As I laid him down for the night, I felt a calm rush over me. I had zero energy to focus on anything so I mindlessly watched TV until I got a text from my wife. Her plane had mechanical issues, and they had to do an emergency landing in Charleston. Now, I’m not a monster, so my number one thing was being happy that my wife was okay, but since she was okay, it was quickly followed by, “Oh, I’m so screwed tomorrow.” I didn’t know how I was going to try to manage him while also having to at least be semi-competent at work. I also knew that I shouldn’t have promised him anything, because the prize for the last love-you-loop was Mommy, not a car, and I may not be able to deliver on that promise if she’s in South Carolina.
Luckily, it turned out to be nothing more than a faulty sensor, and my wife was able to get home around midnight. When he woke up, and I came into his room to get him, the first thing he said to me was, “Love-you-loop.” So, we opened it up, and I told him to check in Mom and Dad’s room for his big surprise. He came in, saw what was waiting for him, and when I told him that Mommy was home, he smiled and said…
“Car, please.”
Maybe I needed Mommy more than he did.