Very Welcome Welcomings

When I walk in the door as I get home from work, a wonderful drama tends to ensue, because all three children have a tendency to cheer and run over and throw themselves at me. The front door makes this annoying little beep when it's opened, thanks to the alarm system that we inherited from people who actually worried about such things, and that's like a tip-off for the Next Generation. Usually Ian is the first person to notice, and he shrieks either "Daddy???!" or "Daddy!!!!", and then Daniel and Madeleine follow almost like clockwork, each one making the discovery in a kind of delayed-reaction mode, usually, following up on the previous sibling's greeting. It's humbling to have a fan-club, and it makes me all the more nervous about not wanting to let them down at any time, but of course I'm quite human, so the stakes are high and it's both somewhat scary and really lovely.

But Ian put the icing on the cake the other evening. It might sound like the kind of thing you say to your boss when you really really want a raise, but I don't think it's at all calculating, but just innocent and delightful. As he greeted me, I asked Ian how he was doing, and this was his answer:

"I was good, but I'm even better since you came home!"

(April 5, 2011)