Daddies say I Love You

Today was a long day. Miranda was still not feeling well and Parker had trouble accepting the fact that balloons pop, a fact we have discussed many times. Which left two very sad, whiny and tearful kids. Elizabeth, surprisingly, was fairly patient and delightful all day. The few times she did have meltdowns, I ignored her, not through choice, but through necessity, and after 5 minutes or so, she got up and went to her next activity.

When Daddy got home, all the kids ran to see him. They hugged him, sat on his lap, and listened while he read them the just received replacement copy of Wheels on the Bus, a book that Parker and then the girls destroyed slowly, but deliberately. It was a vision of joy for all of them. Except me, who was still trying to deal with the bad day and was preparing dinner. I looked over and as sweet as it was to see them so happy to be with Daddy, it was quite annoying that I had to deal with their crankiness all day and then he gets the only 30 minutes of pleasure out of them. (Now, don't get me wrong, there are plenty of days...6 out 7 I would estimate...when Dad comes home, and he not only cooks dinner, but entertains the cranky, hungry kids while doing it. I'm usually checking email or blogging at that point and Michael is happy to take over. (Well, I'm not sure if he is happy, but he fakes it really well.))

So today, when I started get grumpy about the situation after he came home, I tried to remember those days so chill out and be happy for everyone that everyone was happy. And then I hear...

The babies on the bus say Wah, Wah, Wah, Wah, Wah, Wah, Wah, Wah, Wah, the babies on the bus Say Wah, Wah, Wah....all over town.

The mommies on the bus say Shhh, Shhh, Shhh, Shhh, Shhh, Shhh, Shhhh, Shhh, Shhh, the mommies on the bus say Shhh, Shhh, Shhh all over town.

And then Parker (remembering another version of the song and not reading from the book) says the daddies on the bus say I Love You, I Love You, I Love you. the daddies on the bus say I Love You, all over town.

Which is just the icing on the cake. The sweet, pleasant daddy says, I Love You, while the mean, angry mommy says, Shhh, Shhh, Shhh? Seriously? That sucks.

It was then I decided I would be leaving for a movie within the hour. And I did.