Following possible COVID exposure at daycare a couple weeks ago, we’ve all been once again stuck at home during the workday. While we’ve since tested negative, Miles doesn’t return to daycare until Monday. It has, once again, made the work week difficult to endure. On top of this, my job has been extraordinarily taxing lately, the end of each day leaving me drained of willpower and facing a backlog of de-prioritized tasks that may or may not get addressed the next day.
Finally at a point where I wasn’t in a 1-on-1 meeting with a student, I forced myself to leave my workstation a little after 1:00 today to get some food and, to whatever degree I could, relieve Jaclyn of her Miles-watching duties. Miles has a generally had good days lately considering how restrictive the weather has been, but trying to conduct any sort of business with a toddler in the house is a fool’s errand.
And what did Miles want to do when I was finally able to spend a few minutes with him at lunchtime? He practically demanded that I pick him up, and then he wrapped his arms around me and just HUGGED ME. And it wasn’t a quick, over and done with hug either — he wouldn’t let go for minutes, like even without fully comprehending what a colossal wreck my workdays have been he still knew exactly what I needed.
This kid.
The Perils (& Pride) of Paternity 