Man does not live by anchovy-smoked oyster-jalapeno-onion-green pepper-on-wheat alone, right?
I used to always grill burgers. I still prefer it, but given my recent economic crisis, spending extra for charcoal just seems foolish. The big surprise was that while I regard stovetop burgers as an inferior alternative, my kids eat them like they just got out of a Turkish prison.
They don't tend to go for the salad part of the burger yet. Mo will eat veggies, but not on a burger. Em's favorite vegetable is Grilled Cheese Sandwiches.
So I made cheeseburgers tonight. And Mo watched Madam Blueberry umpteen times. Still sick, and Mo's hacking cough has me wondering if the TB ward is the next stop. She clearly felt puny again tonight: she hardly broke anything.
Still, Mo downed two burgers. The patties anyway, apparently bread is off the training table for now. She ate the rinds off a couple of oranges and had a bunch of pickles, then put herself to bed early.
Which reminds me, the new job I thought I might have to give up my weeknight overnights with the girls is flexible enough I don't have to. Of all the things I could have cited to turn down the job offer (a bit less money than I earned before, 55 miles of driving a day instead of 5, a lack of built in overtime, etc.), the notion that I couldn't do the weeknights the way I had was the biggest.
Back when we settled up on custody, neither of us thought Mo could get ready for school at two houses. Then we had situations where we had to try it, and Mo did great.
Meanwhile, I realized that the bedtime and getting ready for school routines are an essential part of being a complete parent. I don't want my kids to not remember doing those things at Dad's house.
But when the job offer came, I had already figured out what my limits were. If I couldn't accept the schedule offered, I'd have walked away from the offer entirely. It's hard to do that, but in my experience, it beats painting yourself into a corner.
At first I wasn't sure if the schedule the business was run on would allow for the flexibility I hoped for. Plus, I didn't want to walk into a job looking high maintenance: 'Okay, I can do this, but can we scoot these hours around?'
By the time I asked, it seemed like maybe I should have asked sooner. It was amazingly simple.
Since I have the kiddos on Wednesday, my Thursday schedule will start and end an hour later. This lets me make my kids grudgingly shower, go to bed at a reasonable hour, get up against their will, get dressed in something other than their first choice, and get to school on Thursday. Then to work.
2 comments:
I just thought I'd let you know... your blogs are always, and without fail, a highlight to my day. Especially the ones involving food and hanging out with the honyocks (which I've never looked up, but am led to assume they are baby lobsters, of sorts). Yes? You're a cool freakin' dad, man. :)
I appreciate the thought. I try as a Dad, first and foremost. When I was stuck in a bad marriage, I didn't do a good job of puting the Dad job first, so I'm making up for lost time.
Food involves the kids to a great extent. I mean, I don't need that much. I love sushi but can easily Ramen my way through life. My kids are pickier, and that tends to make me cook. Which is a good thing: I think I like to cook more than I like to eat.
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