No, really, the last 12 months have been interesting, but I’d be lying if I didn’t admit I’ve learned a couple of things:
. . . most importantly, after spending just about every moment of every day of the past 12 months with my five children, I’ve learned I no longer fear that Harry Chapin song, “Cat’s in the Cradle”:
“When you comin’ home, dad?”
Jim Gaffigan
“I don’t know when
But we’ll get together then
You know you’ll have a good time then.”
So close
We are so close. I envision an open door framing a bright light a short distance away. The door leads to social mixing, hugs with family and friends, a release from crowd-induced anxiety. Between the door and me stands the second vaccine and the two week waiting period.
Back to school
Our second vaccine is scheduled for next week which also happens to be the boys’ spring break. Following the break, both boys will return to school in the classroom.
Except for a brief interval when we all tested positive for COVID, Blue Boy has been attending school throughout the year while Mowgli has been home. And it is not going well. Mowgli needs social interaction and physical activity.
Where’s Mowgli?
Because Mowgli spends the day upstairs, Mike and I are aware of his presence only when he descends to the kitchen to stock his cache of fruit. Occasionally he sweet talks his Grandpa into taking him out to pick up a sandwich for lunch. Otherwise, his presence is marked by isolation-fed teenage moodiness which we taste at the dinner table.
Free of guilt
Would Baby Boomers have been the involved parents without Harry Chapin guilting us? When Mike hesitated to invest time with the kids, “cat’s in the cradle” became my mantra. Everyone knew what it meant. Even if it didn’t prompt him to act, it prompted him to think.
I laughed aloud when Jim Gaffigan offered his observations on CBS Sunday Morning. All of us have spent more than enough time together. All of us are ready for some distance.
When we get together, you know we’ll have a good time then.