Running Late

I returned to the office yesterday from my paternity leave, and purposely tried to go in a little early. Regardless of how early I got up, I would have still gotten caught before I was out the door with unexpected fatherly duties. My boy needed a clean diaper and a new outfit. So I'm out the door 20 minutes later than intended, but I was still "early." The morning of my second day of work, I'm dressed in my business casual attire, giving him a sponge bath. (I make it to work sort of on time.) While still on paternity leave, we were late for every doctor appointment we had by a minimum of 15 minutes.

Now I've had to meet people with kids for lunches or dinners or whatever, and those people are almost always late, and they simply shrug and blame their kids, with a "You know how it is." And being a fairly punctual person, I always think, "No, I don't know how it is! Take responsibility! Don't blame your kid! You should have left your house earlier! Now buy me a beer!"

Now I see what the punctually challenged parents have to go through. No matter how early you start, how much you prepare, something can always come up to halt you at the door. And to address your baby's need right away, knowing you're leaving your impatient friends waiting, is being a responsible parent. So keep this in mind if you need to meet someone with a kid. Punctuality and parenting are not mutual companions.

"I'm twenty minutes late for my feeding."