What about the dad???

While I can tend to be overly optimistic, I don't walk around with my head in the clouds--I live in the real world. I know that my dog is always going to get more attention than I do. I teased eQ recently about putting her fella ahead of her pup on her list of things for which she is thankful. But it truly was just teasing, her list was not a ranking. Life's not a competition, and yet, within my household I do occasionally wonder, "What about me?" Here are stories my son likes to retell about two such occasions.

Last summer I started digging up old metal fence posts. It was really hot that day. My wife suggested I wait, but I wanted to get at least one out of the ground--whoever installed them used a ton of concrete. She said she would keep an eye on me, just in case. I dug up 2 and kept going. I started on the 3rd post, digging, shaking the post, digging some more. Quite unexpectedly, the 3rd metal post snapped off in my hand as I pulled on it.  I fell backwards and landed in the grass. I refocused within a few seconds and noticed the clouds were very pretty, so I decided to lay there in the shade until my wife came to check on me. I always liked looking at the sky (day and night). I'll make a long story a little shorter and just tell you no one ever came to check--and I was feeling pretty stubborn about it, so I stayed there quite a while. When I finally went into the house to get a drink, my wife and kids were playing with the dog. They said, "Look what Bandit's doing!"

Last winter we had a lot of snow in DC, with back-to-back record-breaking storms. I worried about the weight of the snow accumulating on the roof. During the 2nd storm, I broke a snow dam from the roof. When I did that, it was like a mini-avalanche all around me. I might have worried a little, but I knew my wife and son were on the back porch watching in case I needed help. As I fought through the snow and finally emerged, I could hear them laughing. But they weren't laughing at me. They had let the dog out and were completely captivated by the sight of him frolicking in the snow. When I joined them on the porch they again said, "Look what Bandit's doing!"

When my son tells either of those stories, he finishes them with the line I said on both occasions: "The dog! What about the dad???" and he laughs.

But seriously, look at Bandit. He's so cute and I DO understand. I would have been watching him instead of me too. LOL!