Jaclyn had to make a relatively last-minute trip to the Ohio State Fair for work today*, leaving me alone to contend with Miles and Brie. Fortunately, our vet tech neighbor saw to Brie today while I was at work, and yes, Miles was in school for the better part of the day, but what WASN’T successfully accounted for was my evening gig.
Yes, with no babysitter available, Miles accompanied me to trivia tonight. To say I had concerns is underselling it. All I could do was make sure my phone was charged and hope PAW Patrol could keep Miles occupied enough to prevent the night from being a trainwreck. However, within minutes of sitting down with my phone, Miles had already logged into my Paramount+ account and tried to change my subscription plan. This was five minutes before my trivia show even started.
Thankfully, Miles was very eager to help out at the show, and in addition to letting him reveal answers to a few questions over the mic, I also gave him the important task of collecting the answers from players.
But the ever-shifting interests of a four-year-old aren’t built for attending to one specific job for to long, and thankfully some of my friends/regular players were more than willing to have an additional team member.
The only point in the entire night where Miles was remotely disagreeable was when he discovered the winners got beer tickets. He felt cheated because “I helped out a lot.” The bar staff agreed and gave him a beer ticket of his own (he redeemed it for a lemonade).
* Jaclyn spending two days at a state fair, surrounded by all manner of morbidly unhealthy fried foods she has no intention of eating, is perhaps the greatest injustice I’ve experienced this year. In this regard, at least, I understand Miles’s position on feeling that he deserves something he didn’t really earn or need.
The Perils (& Pride) of Paternity 