The callout

Last night was my first evening being Mr. Mom. My youngest has another ear infection just diagnosed that day so he needed drops and meds and was cranky. The other two get along sometimes and at other times they don't. Things went fairly well until bedtime. We all agreed to clean up as we go so the house is not a pig sty when Mama comes home, so we cleaned up and everybody went to bed.

I tend to not go to sleep very early...I am up late almost every night and last night was no different. I was laying in bed, reading and listening to some jazz when I heard a dog barking. I'm attuned to dogs barking since that is the biggest threat to our sheep...domestic dogs. I listened and wondered where it was at. Nothing conclusive, but it continued to bark.

I did not want to leave the warm cocoon of the blankets but I knew I had to. I listened at the front door, opened the side window then tried the back door. Sure enough, it sounds like the dog (dogs maybe?) were towards the back of the pasture. So I bundled up being about 10 degrees out, grabbed some gear and headed out to see what was happening. As I opened the gate to the pasture, the dogs (by this time I knew there was more than one) really went nuts. They sounded like they were attaching something, so I broke into a jog to get back there. I saw most of the sheep over by the corral and Sarge, our llama, was stationed between them and the threat about 50 yards away. As I got closer, I flicked on my light and saw the eyes. The dogs were back there, but they were in a kennel. It turns out our new neighbors who have not built their house yet have decided to put up a kennel on their property for the dogs, and the dogs were in the kennel. I have no idea what the fit was, unless it was just the sound of metal on metal as I walked into the pasture, but everybody I was in charge of was safe and the threat averted. I finished with a walk around the perimeter and then headed back to bed.

It took a while to get to sleep after that...the adrenaline and all had to ebb from the system, but I finally dropped off. My kdis were nice enough to allow me to sleep in until around 0700 this morning when I had to get involved in my wife's tough job of raising them!

Greater love hath no mother...

But to be outside in the frozen weather chipping away at the ice that has formed on the driveway trying to make a path for her children who are about to receive items for Christmas that require a bit of driveway to test out!

Reminders...

Some days you get reminders of your job as a father. This was one of those days.

You see, now that it is cold out, I gear up prior to heading to the garage to light the fire and get rolling. That is, I put on my duster and pull on my gloves. My gloves are fingerless wool because even though I get cold, I cannot stand my fingertips covered so I can't operate the controls. The Jeep is not like new vehicles where you just press a button and things work. I have to twist dials, pull cables, turn knobs and flip switches all during the morning commute. And having my fingers covered annoys me when I try to perform those tasks. Yes, this information is germane.

The other day, my oldest son had the opportunity to pick up some stuff to keep himself warm in the cold. Guess what he chose for his hands? Yep, fingerless gloves.

It's just another reminder to me that I'm being watched. I need to be the kind of man that is an example for my children. I need to be the kind of man I would like to grow into. And faking it or pretending to be something just doesn't work. These people live with me. They know me. They've seen me for who I really am not who I wish I was. It's a sobering reminder that I have a job to do as a father to these kids.

Fingerless gloves remind me to be the man I hope my boys grow in to and my daughter marries.