After years of toiling in the late evenings and sometimes even into the next day, daddy is finally home at a family friendly “normal” time and the kids could not be happier. My husband worked very strange hours over the past several years and it would be an understatement to say it had a somewhat undesirable effect on our family. Because he worked so long and so late, breakfast became the most important meal of the day (which it is anyway by virtue of its necessity) because it was often the only meal we shared. Because he worked so long and so late, the kids often fell asleep without having daddy around to read bedtime stories, chase monsters out from their hiding places beneath their beds, and help standardize a bedtime routine lost in the chaos of a tired Mom and two tired and sometimes (most times) cranky children. Because he worked so long and so late, our family had adjusted to an abnormal reality that was different from friends, family, and cultural expectations. It was very difficult! It took what seemed to be a very long time but it eventually changed.
This past week Dad has been getting home while the kids are still awake. The look of shock, surprise, and happiness that crossed their faces was apparent from the beginning. Our daughter, while sitting on the sofa and playing in my lap, routinely looked over at her Dad with a smile, a laugh, and a giggle of joy because she knew that something special was happening; Her daddy was home and that made life a little bit better. Our son had a similar reaction although a bit more active as he jumped and danced his way up to my husband’s shoulders for an impromptu dance party that might turn into a silly wrestling match.
It has been a fantastic change for our family already, and seeing how quickly the kids reacted and how clearly the demonstrated that they noticed, I would say it is a change for the better. I have to admit it, because it is true: Mommy’s happy to have Daddy home too.