I want you to go back to work Daddy - 5/16/08

So the whole family goes to playgroup this morning, we have to show off Susie of course. Things are going pretty smoothly and all; Marshall appears to actually be sharing his park toys with other boys and girls. After being there awhile, we notice at the far end of the field next to the playground a tree that has fallen over. We decide the boys might find this interesting, so I head over with Marshall and Layne to check it out. It apparently turns out to be a playgroup field trip as I turn around and notice I am being followed by 2 other kids, whom I don’t know. No big deal though, provided they don’t make a run for the street or something.

We get to the tree, and it is of course incredibly exciting to the kids. I mean it is a tree on the ground instead of standing up after all. Marshall offers several theories on its demise, saying it either fell while he was asleep, or just during breakfast. It unfortunately had not been down long, I was hoping to find worms, centipedes, etc under it but found nothing. We did see a frog deep inside a hole in the tree, but you could barely see more than its eye. This was more than enough for all of the kids. After 10-15 minutes of examining the tree, we all make our way back to the playground.

Sometime later, Marshall decides he wants to see the tree again. So he, his friend Eva and I head back out. Layne stays behind to dig in the playground’s woodchip ground covering. A boy has got to do what a boy has to do. Anyways, the rest of us are at the tree for another few minutes. It is getting late, and I know we will need to be leaving soon to get back home in time for lunch. Bad things happen when we are late for lunch. So I give Marshall a “2-minute” warning, saying we will head back to the playground in 2 minutes. That time passes, and I start to tell him it is time to go, say goodbye to the tree, etc, etc. He (naturally) wants to stay. We go back and forth until I finally get him moving, albeit slowly. We make it all of five steps when he utters a sentence which should offend me greatly, but I just find hilarious: “I want you to go back to work, Daddy”. This is what I get for a staying home for a week so we can spend time together as a new family of 5? Can’t you just feel the love?