Daddy on Duty

I dedicate this post to my lovely wife Lisa, who allowed me to step into her shoes this weekend. (And what big shoes for such dainty feet.)


My last four months of rotations often made for long workdays with little time spent at home. That coupled with constant studying when I was home resulted in Lisa shouldering much of the parental responsibility. When the semester came to an end, I was gifted a long Christmas break, but Lisa's duties didn't change too much except that she was able to share some responsibilities with me. Finally it hit me, "Why not give Lisa the chance to get away for a couple of days and breath some fresh air (ie. air not tainted by dirty diapers and the distinctive smell of formula)?" I didn't really think she'd take me up on it but she did and here I am alone with Anna. And boy did we pick a great time for her to go.

Anna woke up with a runny nose this morning. Anna NEVER has a runny nose. And Alice, she wouldn't wake up yesterday morning and after trying to resuscitate her for awhile, I ended up getting her towed. The car docs have already diagnosed and treated her, but not before charging us an arm and a leg and not soon enough for me to bring her back home before Monday. So I'm without wheels this weekend, stuck at home with a sniffling baby who also happens to be teething again today after taking a week off.

Normally, when Anna teeths, she sucks on her fingers like a vacuum cleaner trying to swallow a sock. But today I caught her chewing on the corner of the kitchen rug. And during a brief phone conversation with a friend, I was startled to find Anna gnawing on my arm as if she had found a drumstick on a deserted island. Then she snuggled up to my chest, and that feel-good moment ended real quick when I felt her teeth penetrating the fabric of my t-shirt. I yelped and instinctively covered a nipple in case she drifted while grazing. Fortunately, she didn't draw blood and she didn't have fangs when I checked her canines. So at least she didn't appear to be morphing into Vampire Baby although when I looked out the window, I did shudder to note that daylight was fading fast. And her bedtime was still a couple of hours away. Oh dear.


But by day's end, I had survived. Barely. Somehow I managed to find food for Anna to eat, clothes for her to wear, diapers to change her into, and adequate entertainment, all in a fairly timely fashion. Still, I ate lunch 3 hours late, found myself constantly without a rag or Kleenex to wipe Anna's Niagara Falls nose, and didn't even have to cook a meal [ate leftovers-thank you Lisa:)] or run a load of laundry. Or do any of the other million things that Lisa finds time to do. How in the world does she do this every day?

Then I think about the times (every other day) I chide Lisa for allowing the dirty baby bottles to stack up next to the sink. Or about the times I think I'm doing Lisa a favor by telling her that she shouldn't skip meals or ever forget to drink fluids. Or when I discover food on Anna's clothes and wonder why her mommy didn't notice it. I could go on and on.

I'm glad Lisa took a break, but I wish I had offered this, say, back in August. Before Lisa left today (was it today or was it eons ago?), I knew being a homemaker wasn't a walk in the park. I could sense the exhaustion emanating from her face and body after a long day, but I couldn't relate until now. Now I understand why Lisa sometimes was eager for me to clock in as soon as I walked in the front door after a day's work. Oh yes, if I looked in the mirror today at, say, 6 o'clock, I would have seen a desperate man wondering where the heck his mate was.

Today has been an adventure and my wife hasn't even been gone 12 hours yet. Thank you Lisa for all that you do. And I truly say that from the bottom of my heart. I can't promise you I won't ever chide, scold, or complain again about some menial task not performed to perfection, but I do give you permission to slap me back to the reality of today if I do. That said, you better be back here by Sunday night!

Love you babe, Ben