Coming Home Round Up
I stepped into the house from the garage tonight, work still percolating through my head. Mechanically, I counted heads: three kids, one mom. Wait a second - extra kid.... Facial recognition kicked in, and I noticed that Gabriel had a friend over. Although Speed Racer was on the tv, they seemed to be bouncing around the family room, doing something entirely else.
Hannah was alternately sitting, then lying on the kitchen tile, hanging out with Mom as Mom cooked dinner.
"Up!" Hannah demanded.
"I'll be back," I promised. I hadn't checked news websites all day. I am a news junkie. Unplugged, I was starting to wilt.
Hannah disagreed, of course, complaining loudly.
Ok - Barack Obama is still our nominee, I confirmed.
Back out to the kitchen and family room. Gabriel's friend was winding stuff up and preparing to go home. I picked Hannah up, accidently opening her feeding tube's medication port, and she and I enjoyed a lukewarm path of partially digested Pediasure.
Clothing changes commenced. Hannah, not caring about the clothes so much, motioned to be picked back up as I hurried off for new clothes. More crying.
"Gabriel," I asked as we passed in the hallway, "how was school today?"
"Um, you know," he replied, "Same old story."
Laughing, I returned to the now quite-upset Princess. We changed clothes. She made demands. I refused. She cried.
Twenty minutes later, the Napless Wonder is resting quietly in her room. Mom and Gabriel have headed out to Baskin Robins for ice cream. And I am enjoying the brief sound of silence.
-- Dad
