The Long Weekend of the Father

Yes, it is happening this weekend. Sasha's heading off for a much needed weekend away with friends and I'm going to be flying solo with Alya and Marcus for more than a day for the first time.

And Alya is now officially two years old.

The Terrible-Twos.

I could be in trouble.

However, I'm thinking not so much.

See, my daughter can be completely crazy and she can be the sweetest little squirrel in existence.

Yesterday, I flew solo in the daycare drop off. Normally not a big deal, but on Monday Alya switched rooms to Prancing Ponies and had a rough first day.

So we walk into daycare, drop Marcus off with no problems and start head over to the indoor play area called Large Muscle. In the mornings, both Prancing Ponies and Busy Bears (Alya's old room) are playing in there. This made the Monday drop off easy. Delays at home resulted in Alya and I walking over to Large Muscle only to find out the Ponies have moved to their room.

I pick up Alya, start walking over to the room and she starts crying. "No Ponies! No Ponies!" my distraught daughter yells through the tears. Clutching onto my shoulders and neck, refusing to let go results in my arms being unable to set her down.

After all, when your child is bawling and hanging onto you like a life preserver, instinct demands that you do not let go.

After ten minutes of attempting to get her to lay down with plug and woobie, or at least take off her jacket, I had to break my heart and pass her over to the head of the daycare room.

And then walk away.

It's one of the most horrible things I've ever had to do.

However, the story has a happy ending.

See, once I was gone, Alya calmed down and then had a wonderful day. She ate well, had a good nap, and sang and danced with friend that had moved to this room before her.

At pick-up, she was very happy to see Mommy and was such a good help throughout the evening, especially at bedtime.

Tuesday nights are my gaming night. I go to my hobby shop of choice (Adventures in Gaming) and meet up with friends to play various games and talk about all the stuff that guys talk about.

Sasha gave me a call after the little ones were asleep to tell me about the most fantastic thing that Alya did.

At bedtime, Sasha was getting ready to rock Marcus, feed him his bottle and lay him down in the crib. This is when Alya piped up that she wanted to do it. Two years old and the most awesome little girl in the world wanted to help her brother go night-night.

And so she did.

With Sasha helping from the ottoman, Alya rocked Marcus on her lap in the big rocking chair and fed him the bottle. Alya talked to him and held Marcus close until he fell asleep. The she and Mommy moved Marcus to his crib for sleep. And he proceeded to sleep straight until morning.

That's my special little squirrel. So with her help, I have no worries for the weekend. Which reminds me just how lucky I am.

Be seeing you,

Jon