So in catching up, this falls in line with one of those stories, that I don’t want to fall by the wayside a few years down the road.
It was two weeks ago and I ended up having a last minute work dinner that I needed to attend. This meant that Jenn had a long day with no help while I got to bypass frozen broccoli and pasta and instead enjoy a perfectly cooked steak and a glass of wine…the sacrifices we make.
I ran home quickly to change clothes and try and spend a few minutes with Jenn & the kids. After a little bit of time running around playing hide & seek, playing Magna Blocks, swinging the kids around and basically getting to play Disney Dad (swoop in for a few minutes of fun and then leave), it was time to start getting ready to head out.
As I started getting dressed, Nolin and Jenn were watching a few of the many ice bucket challenge videos from her Facebook friends. He was in hysterics. Grace was laughing at Nolin laughing. Nolin then took off out of the kitchen with Grace right behind him.
As I came out of our room, I heard Grace belly laughing in the front of the house. I turned to Jenn and said How nice is this…Nolin and Grace have been playing together for like 10 minutes and no one has screamed, no one is running around the house chasing (or being chased)…this is awesome.
Had we finally hit a turning point?
Jenn joking replied, they are probably doing the ice bucket challenge.
Then like the end of Usual Suspects it all came together in a series of quick flashbacks…
Nolin grabbing a glass off the counter
Running out of the kitchen as fast as he can
The playroom where I assumed they were playing was no longer the front room that had changed a few months ago, so them playing together in the playroom would make no sense.
I took a deep breath in, pulled out my phone cause I knew this would be good. The kids heard me coming, and Grace stuck her head around the corner, realizing that they had been caught, she just had a huge guilty smile on her face, but she was not wet…
This didn’t make any sense.
And then I walked into a moment…
Nolin was drenched. The floor was drenched. Grace was the perfect instigator. We basically had a mess on our hands…and it was time for me to leave.
Sorry Jenn, but sometimes work does have its rewards.
Our Modern Family 