Priorities

It was a really pleasant and relaxed evening that got out of control, mainly by being so pleasant and relaxed :) But suddenly, Dad was late for an interview and the babies were up past their bedtime. And the babies were running out of steam fast. Or, in Martha's case, she was gaining steam fast...which is worse.

So Marriner's rushing out the door, Martha's brushing her teeth, I'm trying to put Jane in her PJ's and get her in bed 'cuz she's exhausted. Then I hear the crash from the bathroom. I knew what had happened. Martha insists on brushing her teeth standing on the edge of the bathtub. We tell her (strongly) every night about how dangerous it is, and it's a huge battle over the dumbest thing. But since Martha was by herself, she got to decide where to stand, and she'd obviously chosen poorly.

I put down Jane and went to comfort Martha, who'd hit her head pretty hard, but fortunately no blood. I decided to just read her a story and put her to bed. (You're not going to get a cavity if your mom doesn't check your teeth one night, right?) Jane wandered in, Ellis wandered out, and in the process, somehow Jane ended up shrieking hysterically. Maybe she pinched her fingers in the dresser? Ellis tried to comfort her, but she did NOT want her sister...

And at this exact moment is when Marriner came in and said, "How about I finish reading Martha's story before I take off?" I gratefully passed off the book, took Jane, and in 5 minutes, lo! all was just and all was right again! Part of me feels bad that I made Marriner late for his interview. But then I remember that he's still Dad, and he still has an obligation to take care of his family, so I shouldn't apologize for having needed him for a moment. Still, it does make a mom feel wonderful to know that in the moment when he had to choose between something important and something urgent (I'll let you decide which one we were), he picked us. And whoever it was he was meeting - sorry about making him late.