Unfortunately, that wasn't an option one evening earlier this week. Jeff was working his usual shift, and I needed to be at the office to proofread some documents and give immediate feedback so that my art director could make necessary changes in order for it to be ready for a big meeting the next morning.
Jeff graciously agreed to pick up the kids from daycare and bring them to my office on his way to work so that I wouldn't have to make the hour-long round trip to get them and return. I suggested he grab some movies, so the kids would have something to do while I worked.
A little before 5 p.m., Jeff dropped off the kids and the portable DVD player.
The broken, portable DVD player.
Not a big problem because we have a DVD player in our conference room. However, that DVD player became useless when I discovered the Scooby Doo case Jeff had grabbed was empty.
What to do? As quickly as I could while the kids scavenged through my office, I finished proofing a couple things and gave them back to my art director. Knowing it would take him at least a half hour to make the revisions and print out another draft, I headed out with the kids to grab some dinner and to find a Red Box.
On the way, we passed what looked like some sort of accident. The cross street was blocked off by multiple fire trucks and police cars. "We need to call Dad and tell him about this," AJ suggested from the back seat.
"I'm pretty sure he already knows about it," I answered, noting the number of squads on the scene.
As we inched our way passed the accident scene, which happened to be right next to a construction site, AJ announced confidently, "I bet I know what happened."
"What's that?"
"It was a hand grenade."
That must have been it!
We finished our tasks, renting a movie and going through the Taco John's drive thru. At last we made it back to work. On the way in the door, AJ noted a feather on the ground. (Thankfully he'd missed the bird's entire wing that was lying a few feet away. Bet that was an ugly way to go!) Lookng at the feather, AJ sighed. "I wish it was clean and I had ink. Then I could write a constitution."
Sydney, making a pretty impressive history connection for a four-year-old, responded, "I wish I could meet George Washington."
Without missing a beat, AJ told her, "You will, Sydney. Someday in Heaven."
I love how their minds work!
Back in the office, the kids happily watched their movie and ate their tacos and potato ole's. And then they watched the movie a second time as I continued my work. Finally I got to a point where I felt comfortable leaving. Or maybe I just recognized I couldn't expect my kids to sit quietly any longer. (The fact that I felt like my brain was shutting down for the night was just added motivation.)
It was a little before 8 p.m. when we finally headed out the door. Feeling like the worst parent ever for making my children sit at work for so long, I decided to be impulsive. I asked the kids if they were in a rush to get home. Slightly confused by the question, they answered no (as I knew they would.) And so we headed to Canal Park and made a stop at Dairy Queen.
With ice cream cones in hand, we headed for the Lakewalk.
(I so wish I'd had my regular camera with a flash with me. With a little fill light on their faces, the above shot would have been spectacular!)
Once the ice cream was gone, we threw rocks into Lake Superior.
And then we threw some more.
And some more. (I love Sydney's never-give-up enthusiasm.)
Jeff was able to stop down for a few minutes and see us. Shortly after that we headed home. During the drive, the kids were already asking when we could go back to the Lake and do it again.
How I love my kids! They'd just spent almost three hours at my office. And a simple side trip for ice cream and rock throwing was all it took to totally turn our evening into what AJ proclaimed was "a good, good night."
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