PRESQUE ISLE, Maine — We were somewhere on the edge of Washburn when the sugar began to take hold. My kids had just stuffed their gullets with candy and ice cream thanks to their Papa. My son and daughter are on the downslope of summer and will soon return to school. I’m counting down the days.
Sophie and Jack Archer wait for the school bus along with their cat Meatball in September 2016. (Staff photo/Joshua Archer)
Don’t get me wrong, I love spending time with my kids, but with a newborn in the house, and my son and daughter fighting over who’s going to hold him, it’s just wearing me out. However, I do consider myself lucky they love their little brother. Being an only child I’ve heard that’s not always the case.
It’s bedtime and I just had to dig chunks of peanut butter sandwich out of my daughter’s mouth. She recently had a spacer put in, which has given her quite the lisp and she can only eat “soft stuff” for the next month. I have a feeling the first few days of 3rd grade are going to be rough not having the ability to properly pronounce the letter S. My son, who’s entering 1st grade this year, already has a lisp thanks to me creaming him with a pillow (during a pillow fight I should add) and chipping his two front teeth. He has this thing about falling with his mouth open.
I can remember both my son’s and daughter’s first days of school. I believe I stayed home “sick” from work so I could watch them ride the bus for the first time. Seeing their little faces squished up against the glass of the bus window as they waved goodbye was pretty heavy (cue “Every Breath You Take” by The Police). Time compressed and I stopped planning for the future. There was only the present. Each second that ticked by on my microwave’s clock exploded as I couldn’t walk away from the kitchen window wondering if they were OK?
That’s all changed. I’ve raised two independent children who come home from school full of stories of what took place throughout the day. None of their stories ever includes information about what they learned. Instead, I get to hear who pushed who and who got sent to the principal’s office for sassing the teacher. They live very exciting lives.
At the moment our house has that new backpack smell. Their bags are full of pencils and glue-sticks and wait by the front door ready for them to grab as they bolt for the bus.
This was our first summer together with me working from home. I haven’t spent this much time with my kids, ever. I know things can be boring for them while I’m at my computer most of the day. I did try my best to answer to every ‘Daddy?’ and make time for them. Afraid that I put a damper on their summer, having to spend most days at home, I asked them if the past couple months were OK. I didn’t expect their answer.
“Yeah! We got to spend it with you.”
