Five Days Off

“DAD!” (Puck’s whispers are always loud.) “LET’S GET UP BEFORE MOM TO PLAY MINECRAFT! WE NEVER GET UP BEFORE MOM TO PLAY MINECRAFT!”

Meanwhile the trash mongrel was sucking raw egg out of the discarded shells in the egg tray. She is quickly inheriting the traits of her Uncle Snuggles, having only met once.

It was time to decorate the tree. I turned on Bing Crosby while the boys got busy.

Puck occasionally commented on the Christmas lyrics. “Greeting smile after smile? That doesn’t make any sense.” He sorted out the ornaments on the floor. “Dad, you do the deck-u-late (delicate) ones. I’ll do the plastic ones. Sound like a deal?”

“Sounds like a deal.”

At the Silverspoon’s, Puck had some questions about his baby brother and how they would schedule shifts in the bathtub. It wasn’t the first time he had heard it, but maybe the first time he realized that his brother would likely be only two years old upon arrival. He thought about this for a few minutes …

“I was hoping my little brother would be smarter when he comes here.”

“Smarter?”

“Sometimes two year-olds don’t think about what they do.”

After bacon and eggs, Bær prepared to brave Sam’s and the bank with Gloria, and Theodore thought he’d try the lumber store. Izzy spread a blanket on the living room rug where he and Puck poured out the box of Legos.

“Watch out,” Bær advised his brother. “You’re going to become his favorite uncle.”

“Oh, I’m counting on it,” said the redhead.

Hours later, Izzy picked up the pizza before meeting up about renting a studio with Magnus and some of the other guys – these kids network for decades and beyond – and a friend’s engagement party. And then a little Dick Van Dyke.

Four-Saturday weekends are a little odd, but needed around this time of year.