My fortieth birthday is looming just over the horizon, and several months back Jaclyn made it clear that I needed to keep this weekend free of commitments. She offered no information beyond this. I’ve been distracted with work and general life lately, but I’ve still done a little detective work with regard to this weekend’s plans. This morning on the way to daycare, I laid out my evidence and theories to Miles, who listened quietly from the backseat.
First, there was an unusual cash deposit into our bank account and a credit card payment made with both this money and an additional amount of our own. The reason Jaclyn provided for the transactions was flimsy, so I assumed that this might have something to do with the weekend. There was the fact that Jaclyn required the whole weekend to be blocked out. Then there was the fact that I was told to keep my work schedule clear beyond 2:00 today.
Given this, I concluded that Jaclyn, Miles, and I were leaving town, likely headed to the mountains (and hey, Highland is releasing its holiday beer this weekend) and staying with multiple other people or couples (I assumed at least 3) in a cabin. “What do you think?” I asked Miles. “Pretty close?”
Miles didn’t appear to have any idea what I was talking about, and it wasn’t until I arrived home after work that I figured out why. The first part of my working theory that was proven incorrect — Jaclyn’s stepmom had come up to Charlotte for the weekend to watch Miles. He wasn’t coming with us.
For a moment, I felt a pang of sadness at this. Not only would I miss him, I had also sort of built up the idea of going to a cabin for the weekend. I don’t think he knows what a cabin is yet, but he sure wasn’t going to be finding out today.
While Miles howled and cried as we left to start our drive, it wasn’t long before Jaclyn and I both felt relieved. I’ve had a couple weekends away since Miles was born, but this would be the first time we’ve both escaped the demands of parenthood for a whole weekend.
And what about my prediction? I hit pretty close to the mark, although I may have underestimated just how many people would be joining us…
The Perils (& Pride) of Paternity 