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Michael's Diary Entries Diary Navigation: Choose A Diary Entry -------------------- Latest Entry: 8/28/00 -------------------- 8/21/00 8/14/00 8/7/00 8/1/00 7/24/00 7/17/00 7/10/00 7/3/00 6/26/00 6/19/00 6/12/00 6/5/00 5/29/00 5/22/00 5/14/00 -------------------- Michael's Introduction

July 17, 2000

Dear Readers,

Perhaps a few of you remember how I told my wife a few weeks ago that she was losing her room-sized walk-in closet and that she responded by telling me she was going to visit her friend in Minnesota so I could work undisturbed and so the kids wouldn't be around to inhale the dust and fumes from the cleaners and paint. Well, last week was the week she took her trip, but with a few significant changes in the scenario.

First, I relented and let her keep the third bedroom as her closet, giving in to her request to keep the kids sharing a room until Allison is in a big girl's bed. Actually, I thought this was a great way to put off doing a job that I really didn't want to do anyway, especially not in the summer.

Second, she added a new justification, pretence actually, for the trip. For some reason, she couldn't just openly admit the trip was strictly and solely for fun. I knew that all along, but Lisa wanted some extra economic or familial justification for the trip. Mere pleasure wasn't enough.

So, in attempt to justify the trip to herself and show her thoughtfulness to me, she left me a list of things to do, with at least one thing we wouldn't want to do with kids around -- fertilize the yard. The others were more mundane matters: fix carpet padding, put wagon together, caulk lights, etc. Tasks designed to keep me busy, as though I couldn't occupy myself for three days without her and kids. I greatly appreciated the guidance and her frequent reminders about the list before she left and after when I called to see how they were doing.

Fly, Fly, Fly Away
Fortunately, the trip to Midway Airport was uneventful except for some little problems with Allison refusing to nap on the way and with Brandon holding his bladder until over the toilet. While waiting to board, Brandon told me he had to use the bathroom. I thought that this was great; it would save Lisa the hassle of doing it on the plane and the potential mess of a wet seat. We went to the men's room. I helped him lower his shorts, went to pick him up, and ... moved quickly to escape the flow.

I quickly recovered and picked him up, hoping that I could lift him over the toilet but I immediately realized this was impossible. So, for the rest of his relief, I held him parallel to the floor, trying to calm him because he was very upset about not making it to the toilet, reassuring him that we all have missed it at sometime, and hoping that it wouldn't get on my shoes or legs. I thought it would never end. The floor was covered with about a 3-foot by 3-foot puddle.

As we walked out, I looked up and saw about eight smiling faces. Our bathroom misadventure unfortunately did not escape notice. On the good side, we unintentionally brought some humor, some laughter, to the lives of these travelers who found an unexpected kind of relief in the men's room. But my work was not done: I had to clean Brandon's shorts and dry them with the air dryer.

We were lucky we had ample time or he would have missed his flight. That night Lisa called to let me now they arrived safely and that Allie cried about half the time, whining to get down to play, for more juice, for more of anything than to sit in her seat.

Lisa and the kids got lucky, though, with their seating. They sat next a kind older gentleman who liked kids. He gave Lisa the boost she needed when she thought the kids were at their worst, when he said, "You have really good kids." She knows that's true, but had trouble believing at the time.

Home Alone Blues & The Good Life
Let me get my confession out the way quickly: I did everything on the list or, at least, tried to. I even did some things that weren't on the list such as scrubbing tub and tile. What was I thinking? Oh, that's right, happy wife equals happy husband. And boy was she happy to see that clean tub.

As much as I enjoyed the quiet and not tripping over toys and books and doing what I wanted when I wanted and how I wanted, I wouldn't want to live alone like that. Three days was enough for me. Actually, usually an hour away from them is enough to recharge my battery. So, there's no doubt for me that I was made to be a married man with kids. I hope you don't mind if I end on a somewhat sentimental note: But I think that I've got it made, that I've got the good life.

Enjoying life,
Michael