Guys Night Out

Tomorrow reality sets in. This afternoon the last of the grandparents went home and Danielle and Colton will be released from the hospital sometime in the morning. The honeymoon will soon be over and tomorrow the real work begins.

Ridge is going through a confusing time, I think he knows that soon he'll no longer be the center of attention. So tonight I decided to spend a little extra special time with him. He and I left the hospital this afternoon around 6 after spending a couple of hours visiting Mom and little brother. Ridge was quiet the whole ride home- he didn't even want to sing-a-long with his favorite Switchfoot tunes. I knew he was depressed- or as much as a two-year old can get depressed I suppose.

So tonight, Ridge and I had a Guys Night Out, to celebrate his last official night at home as "an only child." We played trains, guitars and drums and a game that we call Bizarre Foods. This game is played by Ridge who rummages through his toy box of plastic foods and miniature pots and pans and pretends to cook various culinary dishes. Tonight's menu consisted of a strange jambalaya of plastic chicken legs, celery, cabbage, apples, hot dogs, and pizza. He then prepared a strange beverage for Daddy that he called "pickle coffee." Let's see Anthony Bourdain top that.

After Bizarre Foods was over, our actual dinner was delivered and the two of us sat on the living room floor and dined on pizza and watched baseball on ESPN. Ridge is turning into quite the sports fan, though I'm starting to suspect he's a closet Yankees fan. Papa and I are going to have to work on that.

After Ridge triumphantly announced "I FINISHED!", we put our dinner plates in the sink, had a quick bath and read books until he told me he was ready to go to sleep. We said our prayers, sang our bedtime Robert Earl Keen songs and talked about hunting "big bucks" until he dozed off.

Without sounding too cliche, I guess tonight marks another chapter in my short career as a Dad; tomorrow both of my boys will be under one roof. And I absolutely can't wait.