Agony For All Parties Involved

When I was a small lad - something like three or four - I remember throwing myself at the door as my father would leave for work, begging him not to go, but he would just say goodbye to my mother and continue on his way as if nothing were happening. At the time, it seemed extremely callous (although I'm not quite sure I believed he could hear me, which might explain his non-response), but now that I'm a Daddy myself, I see that it's really as hard to leave the young 'uns at home (or perhaps harder) than it is to be on the child's side of the equation.

But Daniel's plea made it even more heart-wrenching one morning:

"Daddy, don't go to work, because if you do, then I'll have no Daddy to watch me."

(Daniel, August 27, 2009)