KRISTY GRAY Star-Tribune staff writer | Posted: Tuesday, December 30, 2008 12:00 am
How soon is too soon to count down the days to school?
Not that I'm complaining, mind you. But I think my husband needs a break from break.
As the work-at-home dad, he's the go-to guy for most sick days, summer vacations, spring breaks and early dismissals.
Warm weather is so much easier. Six-year-old Sammy can walk down the street and find any number of friends to occupy his time. Or, he can ride his bike, practice his skateboard or play in the sprinklers in the backyard.
But when it's cold and windy, Sammy and Dad stay cooped up in the house like the last two members of the Donner Party.
I knew my husband was cracking when he sent me this e-mail at work Monday morning: "Hey dad hey dad hey dad hey dad hey dad."
(I don't doubt that this conversation actually took place. I only wonder why my husband took the time to transcribe it. Maybe that's the real reason he's not getting any work done.)
Then, during my lunch hour, I stepped into my husband's office, the most recent in a long line of interruptions. My husband flashed me a look that stopped me dead in my tracks. I crept back to the living room to take care of the Sammy business.
First, I turned off the television.
"Mom! I was watching that."
"Well, it's time to do something else. Why don't you practice those books I gave you this morning and exercise your brain a little?"
"But Mom. I don't want to exercise my brain so it can get fatter. Then I can be the smartest first-grader at Verda James!"
Who can argue with that 6-year-old logic? If watching too much television makes you fatter, shouldn't it make you smarter, too?
And so, here I am, writing at home to give my husband a "hey dad" breather. And really, how hard can it be? Men tend to overreact. All it takes is a little structure, discipline and -
Wait a second. Sammy needs a snack.
OK. I'm back. As I was saying -
Hold on. Sammy's balancing precariously on an unsteady rocking chair. "Mom. Mom. Look. Mom."
"Sammy! Get down, you're going to fall!"
Anyway. All a 6-year-old home for Christmas break needs is a firm set of rules so that -
"Parents! Watch this!" Sammy shouts before running down the hallway and launching himself into the couch with the velocity of a cheetah on steroids.
And, as my Christmas decorations wobble and shake and nearly fall off the shelf, I think about 12.
Twelve days until school starts again. Or, is it too early to start counting?
Reach features editor Kristy Gray at (307) 266-0586 or kristy.gray@trib.com.