Discovering Fatherhood
Reflections on everyday daddy stuff
Lock Out Rant
The day began chaotic. I woke up later than I should have. Claire woke up exactly at the same time I did which meant that I would have to put breakfast and my quiet time aside until she was taken care of. After changing her and getting her breakfast I remembered that the animals needed to eat and that the dog had been holding his bladder since 10pm the night before.
Animals were fed. Dog used the bathroom. Success.
Daughter spills Chiobani yogurt on her tray and proceeds to smear it all over the tray and then push 75% of its contents onto the floor.
Sigh…
Luckily the dog isn’t lactose intolerant and enjoys strawberries.
I find something else for my daughter to eat. In typical fashion she licks it, puts it down and a half hour later comes back and eats it as if it were the greatest thing ever. What’s wrong with her taste buds?!
I look at the oven clock: 8:45am. Crap. I need to get Claire to the babysitter and I still haven’t packed her lunch or mine. *Note to self—do this the night before!!!
Food is packed and ready to go. It may not be the greatest sandwich I ever made but its food and it will keep me alive. I grab Claire and her diaper bag with one hand, lunch bag in the other, and my left hand pinky has a hold of the keys and iPad mini.
Pinky is feeling a bit overwhelmed.
I begin to walk towards the door and the dog greets me as if I were taking him on a walk. I put everything down. The dog needs to go out one last time before I go to work and then I have to put him in his crate. Sigh…
Dog uses bathroom. Success.
I turn the knob to the French door that is to lead me back into my house to regretfully be greeted with my shoulder hitting said door. “Umm…this door seems to not be opening.” I turn the knob and push again. Still not opening. My daughter stands on the other side of the glass with a look that I have not quite experienced before.
The hamster slowly begins to give momentum to the wheel.
Daughter + door not opening + new look on face = locked out of the house.
Sigh…
“Claire, sweetie. Can you unlock the deadbolt?” “No, it isn’t funny so stop laughing.” Claire begins her attempt to reverse the deadbolts locking mechanism, but apparently she can only lock it. Of course!
I think to myself, “How do I get into the house?” I could wake my wife up, but she worked the night shift and went to bed 2 hours ago. She will not be happy. Naturally, I go back to the door and begin coaching Claire on how to open the door. Claire tries but fails. I laugh a little. If I weren’t going to be late to work it would be a lot funnier.
I finally give up and knock on our bedroom window. Wife wakes up and unlocks the door. Success. Wife has a look I recognize very well. It is a mixture of “I’m-not-pleased”, with a dash of “I-would-kill-you-if-our-daughter-wasn’t-here-right-now”. I try to make light of the situation and share with her how Claire is the one that locked me out. “Isn’t that cute?” I ask. Wife continues to walk away towards the bedroom.
I finally get the dog in the crate and Claire into the car. I drop her off at the babysitter and get to work 15 minutes late. I sit down at my chair and attempt to relax. I think to myself, I made it to work only 15 minutes late. That’s better than I expected. Success.
Lunchtime comes around and my uninspiring sandwich is nowhere to be found. The hamster slowly begins to give momentum to the wheel.
Sigh…I left it at home…
Discovering Fatherhood 
Thanks for the laugh Leo. I needed that today.
You are welcome.
Looks like someone needs a new hamster.
Yes please!
I locked myself and my son out a few weeks ago. The wife was out. I asked a neighbour to help and they asked another neighbour to help and before long I had an audience of around 10 people from small children to elderly wheelchair bound grannies all providing advice in Thai. Which was the scene my wife arrived home to. When we had exhausted every option (including trying to unscrew the windows!?) I broke the glass and unlocked the door. At this point everyone literally ran away. Sometimes I just don’t understand.
That’s rough. I told my wife we need to hide a key somewhere on the property in case this happens again. Last thing I want is for this to happen in the dead of winter while she’s working and I’m locked out in my flip flops and shorts. Thanks for reading!
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