July 4th, with a Challenge!

For my sins, on very rare occasions, I go out and have a couple of drinks. When I mean rare occasions, I am can probably count on 1 hand the number of times I have been out and can say I was "drunk," in Henry's 2 year lifespan.

However, on the occasions that this has happened, unlike my college days, I have not had the fortune to be able to sleep in until 11am, then order a pizza for lunch the next day, getting up just in time to watch the Vikings on Sundays. Those days are history. Instead, even if I have been up until 1-2am, I am awake at 7-8am at the latest with either a child kicking me, screaming, or asking me to get milk and cereal.

One such situation happened this weekend. A very good friend of mine, Kurt, was in town, so we went out for a couple of drinks. I think we would have been home at a reasonable hour (pre-midnight) had the Minnesota Twins game not gone 16 innings. We decided we "had" to stay out and watch the end of it, especially since I now have no television at home.

As expected, the next morning came all too quickly, and I was very tired, meaning that I had to practice the skill of hungover parenting. My awesome wife allowed me to "lie in" until 7.30am. It's funny how 7.30am used to be considered a very early morning for the weekend, but now, with the advent of children, waking up at 7.30 is almost akin to being up at 11am was in the B.K. (before kids) era.

So after a night of drinks, parenting seems much more difficult. I was considerably slower than normal in my reactions and in preparing anything for the kids. It felt like Henry, who is never slow (he has 2 gears which are a million miles an hour and stop), was on Fast Forward. He blasted past me a number of times while I was trying to catch him, and was concerned that I did not chase him with quite the swift speed I normally use to catch him.

Processing thoughts is also a little slower. When Henry is talking to me in his 23 month old dialect of half formed words, on a good day, I can figure out most of what he is saying and reply. On a day like this one, however, I had no clue what he was saying, and he kept looking at me like I was a moron.

There is nothing that makes you feel less intelligent than the 1st time your baby looks at you thinking they are smarter than you are. It is a very transparent look, and one that I will remember for a long time.

Anyway, after 3-4 cups of coffee, a few ibuprofen, and a shower, we were on our way to a State Park to have some fun.

That was the real cure!! Playing on July 4th with my son, together with my wife, and my best pal Kurt in the fresh South Dakota air on a wonderful July morning. Henry loved jumping on the rocks, running in the camping area, and snacking at a picnic table. Gemma just sat back in the chest carrier and watched smiling occasionally and looking content.

I knew I was completely recovered, however, when at lunch time, we ate a large buffet at the Pizza Ranch, while watching the legend Joey Chestnut win the annual July 4th Hot Dog Eating Contest on ESPN. Not once during that contest did I feel at all like throwing up (unlike some of the hot dog contestants).

Other highlights this weekend included watching fireworks with Henry and Kurt (Gemma and Marisa were home sleeping). Henry has since been saying "Fie-work" then "BOOM." Also, this was the weekend that I had it pointed out to me that not only was I losing my hair and going grey on top, but that I also have a number of grey chest hairs! I'm not even 30 yet!!!

Generally, I would not recommend parenting hungover. I was lucky enough to have Marisa who had not been out with me, at home looking after the kids and doing her normal amazing job of being a Mother. While I am still learning how to be a Father, and am making plenty of mistakes, my wife is the most natural mother I have ever seen, and I don't know what I would ever do without her.