The boys had school one day last week. ONE. With the temperatures dipping well below zero last night, I fell asleep crossing my fingers and toes and hoping there would be school today. They need to be in school.
When I heard my text alert go off at 4:52, I got a sinking feeling in my gut. Still, I managed to convince myself (at least partially) that it was just a hockey score alert from last night. Yeah, right. When the phone rang at 5:15, I knew. No school. AGAIN.
I started in on a random stream of consciousness while Duane listened. "Crap! I can't call off today. We're already pretty short staffed on the public service desks today, and I'm on desk first thing. I guess I could call Mom. I know she'll take them, but she hasn't had a break lately. First she was in Mansfield, then she had the kids most of last week, then she had weekend guests. It's not fair to always dump on her. I know Dad would take them too, but they are leaving for vacation tomorrow and will need today to get ready."
"I could call my mom and see if she could come down," Duane said.
"You can't call your mom at 5:30 in the morning and ask her to drive 20 miles in subzero temperatures to come stay with her grandkids who have essentially been housebound for the past week! I'm sure my mom will take them I just hate asking her all the time. Oh! I could take them to work with me for a couple of hours while I cover the desk, then I could come home after that. They'd be fine in the children's section or the homework help center. That's a possibility. But I know mom will take them if I call."
At this point Duane reached over to the nightstand and grabbed the phone.
"Who are you calling?" I asked.
"Work. I'm taking the day off," Duane replied.
"You can't take the day off!" I insisted. Duane pretty much IS the parts department at the HVAC company where he works. He never calls off and schedules his vacations very carefully. The main reason I always stay home when the kids are sick or something like this happens is that I get much more vacation than he does and my schedule is (usually) much more flexible.
"I can't normally call off, but we are actually pretty slow right now. Your mom has had them a lot lately and you are busy today. I'm a parent too. I'm calling off," he said.
Now this may not seem like that big of a deal to some of you. Some of you are probably thinking, "Well, he should share that responsibility." But life isn't always "fair" and the way we divide things is the way that works best for us. However, I've been battling the winter blues pretty fiercely lately and if I had to stay home today, it may have been the straw that broke the camel's back. I joked to a friend that Duane called off because he values my sanity, but the truth is, he values our whole family. He didn't want to inconvenience anyone today and, as usual, was willing to step up and put others first.
Yesterday, when I found a card he left in my car to help cheer me up, I knew I had a special man. Today it's reaffirmed that I have found my very own hero.
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