Waffle Time!

"See Daddy! I told you!" Joey burst into the shower, rubbing his eyes as he spoke. His Sponge Bob jammies were twisted and turned from rolling around in the bed, showing his 'Dora Belly.'

"You 'told me so' what, son?," I asked.

"I told you so! I told you I'd get up in time for Waffle Time!"

And so he did. And so he has for the past 2 months, at least 3 or 4 days a week. And each time he gets up for "Waffle Time" makes it a little harder to go to work.

"Waffle Time," as Joey has named it, is our time together. Just the two of us, father and eldest son, while Mommy and little bro are still asleep. We spend the evenings together as a family in the backyard, but this is our time. Every one of my off-days is spent with the boys, giving Mommy a break when possible, but this is our time. We read stories at bedtime, one for Jacob and another for Joey, but this is our time. The two amigos!

We don't do much, just pop frozen waffles in the toaster and scarf 'em down. We drink apple juice, wash the syrup off, and get sticky together. Oh...and we talk.

A 3-year-old has some pretty tough stuff on his mind:

"Daddy, when you get home from work today, will you help me ride my bicycle?" (Of course, my precious little fella...)

"Daddy, sometimes Jacob drinks my juice when I'm not looking." (That Sneaky Pete, he probably learned that trick from...uh...er...from me...)

"Daddy, Mommy doesn't let us jump off the back of the couch anymore." (You go, Mommy!)

Whatever the discussion is, whatever words exchange, it doesn't matter. We're creating memories together, memories that he may well forget tomorrow but that I will hang onto when Joey has a little boy of his own. And it's these little memory-making moments that I long for.

Now please excuse me...the waffles just popped up. Have you got time for your little ones today?