Not so long ago, there was this special day. It was before all the rain and flood, and before Sydney's birthday. Though after her party and after we ran a half-marathon... (Just writing this is reminding me why I've been so tired this week).
It was a special day called Father's Day. And the kids were very excited to help me do special things for their Dad.
Except the kids slept in really late, so we couldn't serve Jeff breakfast in bed because he was already awake. So we did the next best thing: brunch on the couch.
AJ excitedly volunteered to help with the eggs. Amazingly I only had to fish one very small piece of shell from the bowl when he was done. Next, Sydney had a chance to fulfill one of her career goals: to be a "server girl".
Making it all the more special... nothing was spilled!
And then it was time to show Daddy what they love best about him... playing with him.
Sydney had gotten a squirt gun the day before as a birthday present. I had quickly figured out we'd need more because what fun is a squirt gun if no one else is armed to play with you. So the kids and I had bought not just one, but two more squirt guns (one for AJ, and one for a friend, babysitter, or... in this battle... Dad.)
The error in my logic is that we now have a total of three guns, for a family of four. I quickly became the designated squirt gun refiller. It wouldn't have been bad except I found myself the frequent victim of friendly fire.
Sydney didn't seem to mind when Jeff shot her, but she would scold her brother, "AJ, you got me all wet."
AJ, who apparently has listened to my sarcasm for far too long, would respond, "that tends to happen in a squirt gun battle."
What a beautiful day it was!
It also happens to be the last day I've seen Jeff at home... awake... for more than 20 minutes. Monday we saw each other briefly at AJ's baseball practice as I was coming home from work and right before he left for work. Tuesday was the flood and the start of some marathon shifts for Jeff and his colleagues.
Listening to all he was dealing with at work, it kind of reminded me when he was deployed. Sure, I was dealing with craziness at home, but there was nothing he could have done to help and so I made light of the mess so that he could stay focused on the job he needed to be doing. I'm very proud of the incredible work that was done to keep everyone safe in this area the last few days: Unprecedented floods, and nobody died. I'm grateful for his willingness to serve, but right now I'm even more grateful that his 4-day shift has ended just in time for the weekend so we can relax, sleep, and spend time together again as a family. In a house with a dry basement.
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