Daddy Rocks

Have you ever noticed that when dads do something routine that moms do all the time there's a lot of hype and praise around it? Like when I mention my husband making dinner while we're at soccer camp from 6-7pm it raises eyebrows among several women. "Really?", they ask, like I'm telling a joke, "does he cook often?" Yes, he does. And I want to add, he also bathes the children, picks up groceries, and vacuums (a little too often for my liking!) You'd think it was 1958 and not 2008.
But occasionally my husband really does take on a task with the kids that is surprising and worth some back patting. This weekend he took all the children, including the breastfeeding infant to the Cincinnati Zoo for the afternoon. I was worried because it was really hot, but I packed their lunches and water bottles (as I do for visits to the zoo because I say no to extra treats figuring it is already a big treat to go to the zoo). I waved goodbye and got down to business working on my class that starts in exactly three weeks.
Three hours later they returned cheeks flushed and mouths stained bright red and blue, including the baby who looked extremely jacked up on sugar. "Mom," they yelled upon entering the house, barely able to contain their excitement, "Dad took us into the Sponge Bob 4D movie at the zoo, and it was awesome!" "Yeah," they added, "and we got slushies and cotton candy!" I could tell they had been told to keep this on the down low by the way John slinked out quickly to "clean out the van." "What are those arm bands your wearing," I asked, "did you get those in the movie?" "Oh, these are for the all day passes to ride the carousel and the train," they explained. (Picture Bill Cosby doing the "Dad is great...give us chocolate cake" skit)
My mind is making the cha-ching sound and I'm thinking of all the times I have taken them to the zoo where I told them there was just a statue of Sponge Bob, but no movie. I'm thinking of how I navigate my way around the zoo to avoid the cotton candy battle, and how only once have I given in to a shared slushie. I'm ruined at the zoo; how will we ever go back to the low key experience of just checking out the gorillas and petting the goats?
But they are so thrilled I can't be angry. I guess this is what dads get to do sometimes; they get to be the fun guys, the ones who buy treats and sugary cereal and let them watch loads of t.v. Even the baby is kicking her legs wildly, seemingly not tired after this long hot day with no nap. She looks like she's just been let in on some secret about Daddy that I've been hiding. Something tells me she won't mind Monday nights while Mommy is teaching anymore.
I know (Lord do I know) that it is not easy to take them places without another adult, I do it everyday so there's a hardening to their constant barrage of requests that I am much more capable of accepting. I am grateful for the three hours of peace and quiet in the house during which I did make lots of progress on my class. Three tickets to Sponge Bob, $15, three slushies, two cotton candies and all day carousel rides, $30, one afternoon of solitude for mom, Priceless.
Later as I'm tucking them into bed, I ask them if they had fun at the zoo, and what animals did they see, but I don't get much information. They saw some elephants they say, off in the distance. "Well, Ian says thinking it over very seriously, "I did ride a giraffe on the carousel." Ah yes, of course.