Parents Are Teammates, Too
August 1, 2008 11:07 PM | 0 Comments
Tonight my sports fan was parked in front of the TV watching a baseball game. I couldn't tell you which one, but the announcer's play-by-plays blared monotonously in the background while I: baked my nearly-14-year-old daughter Kit's birthday cake (with the help of resident chefs 8-year-old Caroline and 10-year-old Austin); made frosting from scratch, of course; and processed all three of them through baths/showers.
In frustration, I finally told my sports fan husband, Bryan, that he needed to report to the upstairs and help me with some portion of the bedtime ritual. Between the cake baking and the lengthy bathing operations, it felt like hours had passed with me doing yeoman's work while he leisurely watched baseball on television.
It's funny. When you have kids, sometimes what you want from your spouse isn't so much about assigning a specific task or divvying up work. It's about engagement, feeling that you have a colleague in the whole process, knowing you're not alone. After a long week straddling the responsibilities of work and home, that's what I needed tonight. So, now my children and my sports fan are slumbering. It's 11:30pm and I'm exhausted, but as crazy and decadent as this may sound, I'm going to play our piano with my headphones on. It's my time now.
How do sports collide with your life? How do you get parity?
The Sports Widow
(aka Nan Hall)
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