Confessing Her Shortcomings

So, I work second shift at a country club as a personal trainer/evening fitness manager. This means that I get home rather late, especially since I often ride a bicycle back and forth. Therefore, as a family we have arranged our schedule so that mornings are our main time together and the children are in bed before I get home.

This has, unfortunately, cut down on the number of times I get to come in the door to "I get first hug!" This is a shame as that particular argument between my children is VERY gratifying to the daddy ego. It is best for our sanity, though; a full night's sleep for the children and some mommy and daddy alone time go a long way to maintaining at least the semblance of a right mind.

My Darling Daughter, however, sleeps in the room closest to the front door and often hears me come in which brings her creeping from her bed for a quick hug that the boys miss out on. A couple of nights ago I told my daughter in a fondly exasperated tone, after yet another sneaky, late night hug, that the point of having her in bed before I get home was that she get to sleep at that time. She peered shyly up at me from under her long strands of hair and said, "Yeah, I'm not so good at that."