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Empty house

It looks like C is down for her long nap of the day, so Katie left me here with the baby while she took the kids to their dad’s for the rest of their Christmas and break.

This morning we were up before six (although I cheated and went back to bed an hour and a half later). The house is trashed. I’d take a picture, but it wouldn’t do it justice. And I’m too lazy to find the camera under the torn wrappings, empty boxes, and other Christmas detritus. The kids partied hard, Christmas style. They played with loud games, and ran about the house, and tried out their new pogo sticks and rip sticks. We even had a helicopter flying around the house, in between chargings.

And that’s why it feels extra quiet in here now. Before there were three lively and boisterous children bounding about the house. Now the only sounds are my fingers on the keyboard and the baby lightly snoring in the other room.

Tonight Katie is working until 11. She has tomorrow off, and I’m hoping she’ll be able to find our coffee table under the rubble. I’m also hoping she won’t be too sad in this suddenly quiet house.

Not nearly enough

I got home last night around 6. C was already getting kind close to bed time and was a little bit cranky; mostly she wanted her mama to hold and feed her. I think I had her for forty-five minutes altogether, but she probably fussed for half of that. This morning, I held her for maybe fifteen minutes.

I don’t know how most dads do it. I knew I was lucky to get to have C at work with me a few days a week, but I didn’t know how good I had it. If a guy only sees his kid at night and in the morning, he’s really only seeing her when she wants her mom. But that’s the way most guys do it, isn’t it? They have a few minutes here and there, and they have the weekend.

For me, that’s not nearly enough.