Day 2,060 - Counting Coins

I don’t know if I should say this or not, but I really don’t care for virtual learning days. My only hesitation in saying so is that I am a substitute teacher. As such, I probably shouldn’t have a problem with kids continuing to learn outside of the traditional school setting. However, that’s just it. The majority of the work that kids do on virtual learning days is busy work. Maybe “reinforcing existing knowledge” would be a more appropriate term to use in this instance. However, I’m not a fan.

It just so happens that I’m not the only one in my house that feels that way though. Ellie and Ethan share my feelings towards. In fact, that was fairly evident yesterday when after one hour of virtual learning, they had basically met every goal that their teachers had for them for the day. While they could have continued to do some virtual work, I found myself not only wanting to escape the house but also wanting to make sure that Ellie and Ethan learned something. After a little bit of research and a few ideas that were shot down by one or the other, we settled on a trip to The Money Museum.

In case you don’t know, The Money Museum is actually housed in the Kansas City branch of the Federal Reserve. That means that we had a little drive downtown ahead of us. When we reached the Fed, I was more than a little concerned about the completely empty parking lot that we found there. Perhaps we had made our trip in vain. However, those feelings were rectified as we were met by security at the entrance and escorted inside.

The first thing that we found was a complete wall of coins known as the Harry S. Truman Coin Collection. Under a picture of each U.S. President, there lay a collection of coins that were actively used during their presidency. I was more than a little surprised to see the number of questions that Ellie and Ethan had about the different coins there. Honestly, some of them were relatively hard to answer like Ellie asking, “Why wouldn’t they just call it a nickel instead of a half-dime?” I never did have an answer for that one.

An image of the coins used during the tenure of the first three Presidents.

After finishing up at the wall of coins, we continued to weave through the Money Museum. The kids were next drawn to a glass case containing a gold brick. A twenty-seven pound gold brick with a handle attached to it to be precise. The case contained one hole big enough to put one’s arm through so that you could attempt to lift said brick. Even though we all tried multiple times, none of us were able to lift the brick. Don’t judge me too much; it was a really awkward angle.

After trying in vain to lift the brick, we found a table engraved with various brass plates with pieces of paper and crayons that you could use to create rubbings of your own dollar bills. Ellie and Ethan absolutely loved this and spent a ton of time designing and coming up with their own special design. I even got into the spirit and spent some time designing as well. I think my bill might be the first ever bill to feature a cow in the center of the bill!

The final stop along our tour was at a window that peered inside the Fed’s vault where we could watch workers process money. It probably comes as no surprise to those that know her but Ellie is very inquisitive by nature. As such, she was filled with question after question about everything that was happening inside the vault. Ethan, for his part, was more intrigued by the three robotic forklifts (named Snap, Crackle, and Pop) that were responsible for carrying large boxes of cash from room to room.

Finally, after about an hour and a half, the kids let me know that they were ready to call it a day at the Money Museum. However, before we could leave, we still had to grab our free bag of shredded money to keep as a souvenir.

Unfortunately, we weren't allowed to take pictures of the vault. As such, enjoy these photos of the kids.

While I never know exactly how much the kids get out of an outing like this, I was pleasantly surprised when both kids sat around the dinner table that night and regaled Bethany with tales of everything they had learned on their outing. I guess we did do some learning on a snow day. Pretty cool, right?

#DaddyWrite

Day 2,049 - Science City Shenanigans

This has most definitely been the longest stretch without writing of my stay-at-home parenting career. 2025 was kind of an adventure of a year for our family but I’ll get into that some other time. I’m a little bummed though when I think about all of the really cool experiences that Ellie and Ethan had that I neglected to write about.

There was another soccer season for Ethan where he got better and better each week. Ellie tried volleyball for the first time and quickly fell in love with it. She’s not half bad either. I spent twenty-something days subbing at the kids’ elementary school over the first semester of the year. Honestly, it’s not a bad day’s work. I inevitably get to see them in passing several times. I get to know some of their teachers and friends. I also get a nice little paycheck so I feel like I’m contributing to our household finances.

I know there were tons of other things from this summer and fall that I missed documenting. However, I can’t go back now. Instead, I’ll just try to make sure I do a better job not missing cool experiences moving forward. Also, in case you’re wondering, yes, the #DaddyWrite count is correct. I actually went back and checked out personal calendar for the year, taking out every day off work for Bethany and each day I subbed.

I know I mentioned up above how there were lots of cool experiences for the kids that I failed to document. One of those cool experiences though that I can document happened this week as Ellie, Ethan, and myself were able to spend the morning putting our brand-new yearly passes at Science City to good use.

In case you’re unaware, Science City is Kansas City’s most popular children’s museum. Housed inside Union Station, it’s very easy for one to spend several hours engaging in a variety of hands-on activities. While I mentioned our passes being brand-new, this was actually our second visit to Science City since purchasing. I would be remiss if I neglected to mention how much the kids love the place. One of the great things though is just how easy it is to find something new to really gravitate towards each time you visit.

For Ethan, he was super intrigued by a tug-of-war station attached to a giant lever. I’m sure this doesn’t come as a surprise to anyone who knows Ethan and his competitive nature but he wanted to keep challenging me to a game of tug-of-war over and over and over. While I feel like I would normally match up decently well against the little man, that was not to be the case with this particular game. Ethan’s rope was attached to the top of the giant lever whereas mine was attached to the bottom. As a result, no matter how hard I pulled and yanked, I could never overcome the advantage that the rope’s position gave him. Ethan, for his part, didn’t brag about his victories TOO much.

For Ellie, the thing that really caught her interest resided in the “Brain Games” section of Science City. That thing was called “Mindball.”  Essentially, what Mindball does is allows you to channel Eleven from “Stranger Things”. Two players will sit down at opposite sides of a table and strap a sensor around their foreheads. Then, you simply stare at a ball in the middle of the table. The sensor somehow senses your ability to stay calm and focused and will cause the ball to move. The calmer and more focused one is, the more the ball will move towards your opponent. When the ball reaches one end of the enclosed track on top of the table, then someone loses. Ellie and I had to attempt this game several times over the course of our morning. At the risk of bragging, I am proud to admit that I never lost to Ellie at “Mindball”. My ability to remain calm and focused much outweighs that of my daughter. Ok, maybe I am bragging just a bit.

I know he might look bored but he's actually just really studying hard.

Obviously, there was an entire world of activities for us to explore at Science City but those were definitely two of our favorites. Knowing Ellie and Ethan, I’m sure we’ll find ourselves latching onto a different experience every time we make our way to Science City over the next year.

The sand station was one of my personal favorites.

Or, you know, I might just be destined to forever lose to Ethan at tug-of-war. Time will tell.

#DaddyWrite

Always looking at the stars...or large kaleidoscopes.

Day 1,961 - Clydesdales, Empty Arenas, and a Moderate Drive

I don’t know about you but my kids are generally ready for some kind of an adventure. There are those times though when they are filled with slight doubt. Those times generally arise when they learn that it might take some time to get to an adventure. After all, what kid wants to take a long drive on a way to an adventure. On Thursday, we embraced one of those long drives to get to an adventure though and we survived to tell the tale!

This adventure arose from the mind of my dad and took us on a journey to Boonville, MO to Warm Springs Ranch, home of the Budweiser Clydesdales. Our journey didn’t just come from the mind of my dad though. He and my mom actually met me and the kids early in the morning to journey along with us. After setting out around 7:30, we arrived at Warm Springs Ranch around 9:50. If that seems like it took a little longer than it should have, it’s probably because we had to make multiple stops along the route for Ethan to use the bathroom.

Once we arrived at Warm Springs Ranch, we were instructed to park alongside a set of giant letters that were repurposed from the Budweiser brewery in St. Louis. Since Ellie and Ethan had been cooped up for a while, we took the opportunity to let them run around the giant letters while waiting for our tour. Soon enough though, it was time for us to join the rest of our group and begin our tour.

Ellie and Ethan are up there somewhere.

After receiving our complementary bottles of water and our radio packs so that we could always hear our tour guide, we began weaving our way through the barns making up Warm Springs Ranch. It was fun to see Ellie and Ethan taking in all of the sights. Ellie, for her part, absolutely loved using her camera to take pictures of the massive Clydesdales she was seeing along the way. We even saw a TV star in Stan, a multi-time Super Bowl commercial star/Clydesdale horse. Before leaving the Ranch, we  were treated to getting to see three foals hanging out in private pens with their moms.

One of my favorite parts of the tour had to be at the end when we received the opportunity to pose with one of the horses named “Kid Rock”. It was cool because we could really see how tall a full-grown Clydesdale was up close, especially compared to Ellie and Ethan. It was also pretty cool to see just how well-trained the horses were. “Kid Rock” would even turn his head towards a camera for pictures which Ellie loved!

Once our tour was completed, we loaded up and headed towards Columbia to grab some lunch as it was only ten additional miles down the road. Despite my protests, the kids would not listen to anything other than Chick-Fil-A for lunch. No worries though. After we finished lunch, we decided to drive over to my dad’s old stomping grounds, the Mizzou campus. As Ethan is a pretty big fan of sports, it only seemed fitting that we check out Faurot Field.

While I was initially just planning on making a quick drive around the stadium’s parking lot, imagine my surprise when I saw what looked to be an open gate heading inside the stadium. Therefore, I decided the only thing to do was to see where exactly that open gate would take us. As Ellie, Ethan, and I headed inside, I fully expected to be cut off by a closed gate somewhere or by security. Instead, we headed into the actual seating area near the 50-yard line. Looking down towards the field, I saw more open gates actually heading out onto the playing surface. With that, there was nothing left for us to do but continue on our quest of possible trespassing.

We headed down the stadium stairs until we reached an open gate leading onto the playing surface. As we stepped foot on the field, Ethan knew he was on hallowed ground. He actually took it all in instead of running wildly as he normally would. As we wandered towards midfield, I asked the kids if they wanted to stand on the Tiger head on the 50-yard line. With that, both Ellie and Ethan took off sprinting across the field while I laid back and snapped a couple of pictures. With that, I figured it was time for us to make our way off the field and not test our luck anymore.

Once we reached my parents and the van, we settled in with the intention of heading back towards KC. However, we needed to make one more little drive past Mizzou Arena, home of Missouri basketball. When we drove by though, I noticed a banner waving outside the arena saying that the Tiger Team Store was open for business. That was enough to make me wonder if we could actually find our way inside the arena to see the basketball court. With that, I asked the kids if they wanted to check it out. Ethan enthusiastically replied, “Yes,” while Ellie halfheartedly said, “I think I’ll just stay in the car.” Therefore, Ethan and I excited the van and headed inside.

When we entered the arena, we noticed a pair of locked gates keeping us from wandering to other sides of the concourse. However, we noticed an open doorway leading into a seating area. We walked through the door and headed down a flight of stairs before finding ourselves in a row of seats directly in front of the court. Ethan was once again pretty stoked to be standing inside an area where he’s watched Mizzou play on television. Once again though, we didn’t stay long before making our way back out to the van so that we could head home.

All around, I would say that our little adventure was pretty great. I hadn’t been sure how the kids would handle being in the car for two hours to the farm and back. However, outside of Ethan’s constant bathroom breaks, they did great! They didn’t even seem to mind the driving time. I guess it just goes to show that drives aren’t that bad when you’re going on a cool adventure.

#DaddyWrite

Day 1,954 - Nueve

I know I’ve mentioned this before but my kids don’t particularly care about stuff. They would always prefer to have some kind of fun experience instead. That’s made fairly evident when looking at the way Ellie chose to celebrate her 9^th birthday (yes, nine) this past weekend.

From the very beginning, Ellie was fairly involved in planning her birthday. She knew she wanted to eat a “Better Than Anything” Cake and she also knew that she wanted to go on some kind of adventure. In addition, she planned out the actual day of her birthday in painstaking detail.

Her birthday began fairly simply with the request of her favorite food, pancakes, for breakfast. However, these weren’t any ordinary pancakes. These were topped with whipped cream and sprinkles. Clearly the breakfast of champions, right?

From there, Bethany and I called a quick audible and bestowed a birthday gift upon Ellie. While she had already received her gift of a new tennis racket a couple of weeks prior so that she would have it for tennis camp, it didn’t seem cool for her to not have anything to open. As such, I had sneakily headed into Costco a few days prior sans kids to purchase a new beach towel with Bluey emblazoned upon it that Ellie had been eying for quite some time. Ellie’s excitement was fairly obvious as she spread the towel out on the living floor and laid down on it, proudly proclaiming, “Look, this towel is bigger than I am!”.

Once birthday gifts were opened, it was time for us to head outside for some tie-dye fun. Earlier in the week, I had taken the kids to Hobby Lobby to pick out some things to tie-dye the morning of Ellie’s birthday. Ellie decided on a new t-shirt and a pillowcase while Ethan picked a drawstring bag and pillowcase as well. While tie-dying always takes a bit of work to set up, it’s a ton of fun watching the kids exercise their creativity in coming up with fun designs and colors. Soon enough, we finished tie-dying and it was time to let the dye soak.

The next thing on Ellie’s list had been to play outside. However, Mother Nature had another idea in mind as the rain fell hard outside. Instead, we decided that a family movie was in order. With that, we all snuggled together in front of the television to watch the live-action version of The Lion King. Neither kid had ever actually seen this version of the film but both were pretty invested by the end.

After our movie ended, it was time to partake in Ellie’s planned birthday lunch of grilled cheese sandwiches and tomato soup. Yes, I am aware that it’s June. Ellie was too for that matter. However, can you really argue with a brand-new nine-year-old when she makes a relatively simple birthday lunch request? After lunch ended, it was time for both kids to head to their individual quiet times for a short nap as we would be having a late night.

Once the naps came to an end, we spent the afternoon just kind of hanging out around the house and engaging in a variety of activities until the time came for us to leave the house for our next engagement. You see, one of the perks of Bethany’s job at DFA is that tickets for sporting events occasionally are available for employees to call dibs on. This was one of those times as Bethany, seeing that the Kansas City Monarchs had a home game on Ellie’s birthday, took advantage and asked for the tickets. Lucky for Ellie, we were now the proud recipients for four Legends Club tickets.

When we arrived at the Legends Field, we found our way to the VIP Entrance located far away from the traditional commoner’s gates. Then, after a quick stop at the Fan Services table where Ellie obtained her birthday crown, we headed up the private stairs and into the Legends Club where we were treated to an “all you can eat” buffet complete with hot dogs, brisket, turkey, macaroni and cheese, baked beans, watermelon, potato salad, and several other things.

Once the game started, we took our seats right outside the Legends Club in a nice, covered section that served to protect us from potential sunburns, errant foul balls, and crying babies. However, there was one thing that the Legends Club seats couldn’t protect us from and that was a visit from Monty, the Monarchs mascot.

While a mascot visit seems like it shouldn’t be a bad thing, this occasion was slightly traumatizing. It started simply enough with Monty entering our seating area and inviting Ellie to join him for a picture. However, when Ellie stood alongside him, her birthday crown became hooked to the baseball stitches lining the side of Monty’s baseball-shaped head. When he stood up, the crown whipped off of Ellie’s head and fell from the second deck to the first deck below. Monty and Ellie were both understandably traumatized by this moment. They both just kept sadly looking down at the ground below. Soon enough though, a Monarchs staffer was right there in our seats with a brand-new crown for Ellie to wear.

After that, I’m happy to say that there were no other mishaps awaiting us at the Monarchs game. We simply enjoyed watching a baseball game. Although, I will say that Ellie was more than a little sad that the Monarchs couldn’t muster a win for her birthday. The post-game fireworks kind of helped to soothe that hurt though.

All in all, I’d say that Ellie had a great ninth birthday. She got to create her own schedule of events for the day and had a ton of fun in doing so. It is a little weird though to realize that this is her final year with a single-digit age. Next year, the big 1-0 hits and who knows what that will bring. Actually, let’s just focus on having fun this year and worry about next year later.

#DaddyWrite 

Day 1,951 - Taking a Ride With the Pony Express

I’ve always kind of enjoyed learning about history. I realize that is not many people’s favorite subject though. For one thing, to paraphrase my lovely wife, history is all about just memorizing facts and dates and if that’s not something that a person is good at, then they’re not going to enjoy it. However, I feel like there’s a lot more to history than dates. For one thing, you’re learning about a bygone era. You never know; sometimes that bygone era may have even impacted your life and the life of your ancestors without even knowing it. Lucky for me, I’m not alone in enjoying learning about history. Ellie and Ethan also have a zeal for it.

Over the past year, Ellie and Ethan have gotten really excited about earning Junior Park Ranger badges at various National Parks and other important historical sites. When looking through the list of badges, we stumbled across one about the Pony Express. With the Pony Express Museum in St. Joseph, I figured that was a worthy addition to our list of summer activities and as we were already heading up that way to visit my grandmother today, it was the perfect time to check out the Museum.

When we arrived, I do have to say that Ellie and Ethan were a little disappointed to learn that the Junior Ranger badge was not actually at the Pony Express Museum. Instead, you have to fill out an online worksheet and e-mail it to an address to receive your badge. No worries though as there was a fun worksheet for the kids to work through as we toured the Museum.

I went to the Pony Express Stables as a kid but I’ll be the first to admit that it has changed a ton in the last few decades. For one thing, it’s become much more kid friendly. When I was there, it was largely just full of displays and written facts. Now though, there’s tons of stuff for kids to touch, feel, and experience.

One of the first things that stood out about our visit was a legitimate old well on the site. It’s been outfitted with a pump and visitors can work the pump and fill a trough with water. Ellie absolutely loved the pump and it was hard to peel her away from it. In fact, she found her way back to it on a couple of occasions to pump away.

Of course, it wasn’t just the pump that Ellie and Ethan found interesting. They were able to go inside a replica of the original stables (complete with statues of horses and riders), and a log cabin. There was even a facsimile of the Pony Express post offices where they could sort letters accordingly.

Their favorite part of the Museum though had to be the kids’ play area. It was absolutely full of activities and themed toys. Both kids were able to complete crayon rubbings of things like an official Pony Express seal and a Buffalo nickel. Then, they entered the play area, complete with kitchen, where Ellie found a period dress and put it on, while “baking” a fresh Cherry pie for the two of them to enjoy. Ethan, for his part, spent some time building the perfect house out of blocks.

All together, we probably spent close to two hours weaving our way through the Museum and answering everything on the kids’ little scavenger hunt. One of my favorite parts though had to be upon our exit when I caught an epic wave of nostalgia. You see, there nestled behind the Museum was an enormous lighted sign for the historic Pony Express Motel that had been relocated to the Museum grounds. Upon seeing that, I knew that there was no way that our trip could be complete without my snapping a picture for the road!

While we were able to check the Pony Express Museum off of our summer bucket list today, I’m happy to say that there are still three other museums that the kids want to check out before summer is over. I can’t wait to see if they like those as much as they did the Pony Express. Only time will tell!

#DaddyWrite

Day 1,936 - And Introducing, Ethan the Magician!

It’s here. The time has finally come. It’s the kids’ first full week of summer vacation at home. It’s not their first full week off of school though. That came last week when Bethany and I spent four days on Prince Edward Island, Canada while Ellie and Ethan spent the week in Nebraska. With it being the first full week of summer break at home, there’s definitely an adjustment process as we all learn how to handle not having a rigid schedule again. There’s also an adjustment period while we all learn how to hang out together and not drive each other nuts (That’s a work in progress).

During the mornings, we haven’t really had any problems filling the time since Ellie and Ethan both take part in a Vacation Bible School from 8:30 until 12:30. The afternoons are wide open though leaving us lots of time for adventures. On Monday, it was as simple as walking to the grocery store to buy stuff for dinner and then heading to the park for some play time. Yesterday though, was something else altogether as we made a fairly special trip to the library.

Our library is great about scheduling engaging events for kids throughout the whole year. One of those events would be Blake Bailey’s Comedy and Variety Show which we attended yesterday. While I’d had the event on our calendar for quite a while, I really didn’t think we’d be able to go yesterday when I backed out of the driveway to the sound of tornado sirens in the distance. Like any reasonable person would, I immediately pulled the car back into the garage and explained what was happening to two very disappointed kids in the backseat. Lucky for us, the storms cleared within 15 minutes and we were on our way.

This radar right here is why I didn't believe we would actually make it to the library.

When we got to the library, we checked in and headed into the community room where we took our seats on the floor in front of a large blue backdrop. We didn’t have to wait long though for Blake to make his appearance as he began to entertain us using a combination of magic, juggling, and puppetry. I’d be lying if I said I didn’t enjoy myself, especially during his routine with “Sealo the Sea Lion puppet.” Ethan was definitely enjoying himself which was obvious from his cackles of delight in response to everything that was unfolding. Ellie, for her part, was a little more reserved but was still obviously enjoying herself too.

Near the end of his show, Blake asked the audience for a volunteer to help him with his next tricks. I was honestly a little surprised to see Ethan’s hand shoot up in the air as he’s usually a little shy about things like that. I was even more surprised when Blake picked him to make his way up front. For the next ten minutes, Ellie and I sat happily watching Ethan play a part in the show’s closing act.

Ethan kicked off his time on stage by spelling his name for Blake so that he could write it on the back of a black and white poster that would be important later on. Then, Blake asked Ethan to hold a magic wand which broke as soon as he touched it to Ethan’s confusion. By the time they were done, Ethan had seen three different magic wands go completely limp in his hand. No worries though as he eventually helped Blake pull a six-foot wand out of a small paper bag. Not going to lie, the smile on Ethan’s face as he held a six-foot magic wand was epic. Then, he cast a magic spell on an empty paint can, causing it to expel yards and yards of multi-colored fabric. At this point, Ethan’s mischievous side was on full display as he excitedly continued wiggling his “magical fingers” while Blake flailed around wildly trying to collect the yards of fabric. Finally, the two of them successfully took the “paint” and magically changed the poster from black-and-white to full color.

After this, Ethan was gifted the newly colored poster, a magic wand of his very own, and a big red clown nose. It was pretty awesome to see the joy and pride on his face as he sat there holding his newfound gifts. While we’ve certainly attended many library events before, I would have to say that this was definitely a first to have an experience like this. All things told, it really wasn’t a bad way to spend a rainy Tuesday afternoon.

#DaddyWrite

Day 1,924 - The One Where Ellie Got Her Face Cut Open

This may not come as a huge surprise to people who know my family, but my kids are getting older. Ellie’s going to be nine years old in just under two months and Ethan celebrated his sixth birthday back in February. A part of kids aging is that they become a little more independent and generally don’t want to show their parents that they still need them. For the most part, Ellie and Ethan have both embraced finding those opportunities to prove their independence. However, today was one of those rare days when Ellie actually showed just how much she still needed the support of a parent, even if said parent was me!

First, a little background. A couple of months ago, Bethany and I were certain that Ellie had her very first pimple on her face. As a result, the only thing we knew to do was to pop it and get that nasty pus out. As you can probably guess, Ellie was less than ecstatic about that. We anticipated that the zit would heal fairly quickly. However, it didn’t. Instead, it lingered until we finally scheduled a visit to the pediatrician on a day off school where he diagnosed it as a pimple that had gotten infected. As a result, he prescribed her an antibiotic to take for a week with the caveat that we see a pediatric dermatologist if it didn’t improve in a week. Fast forward a week and it didn’t improve. Therefore, our doctor referred us to a pediatric dermatologist where Ellie was diagnosed with a small cyst that would have to be cut out and cleaned in a future appointment. That appointment just happened to be today.

Since the appointment wasn’t until after 11:00 this morning, Bethany and I decided to go ahead and send Ellie to school for the morning with me picking her up around 10:30 to make our way down to the Plaza. As we rode along, I could tell Ellie was nervous, both from her fidgetiness and because she kept asking more and more questions. Soon enough though, we arrived and checked in for our appointment. As we waited in an otherwise empty waiting area, Ellie killed some time playing on a large floor-based video game while I enjoyed watching Lucky Dog.

Finally, the time came for us to be called back. As the two of us sat in the exam room together, Ellie began hysterically crying and shaking due to the fear she was feeling. I took her in my arms and held her close as we started praying for the procedure that would be coming. Then, once we were done praying, I pulled up Encanto on our iPad for Ellie to watch for a few minutes while we waited for the doctor.

Before we knew it, Ellie’s dermatologist entered the room and had Ellie relocate to an exam table. Knowing that she was scared, they actually pulled the table away from the wall and moved a chair to where Ellie could look directly at me and I could hold her hand during the procedure. If I’m being honest, the first part of the procedure was probably the worst as Ellie received at least seven deadening shots in her face. With each one, I was told to gently punch her in the shoulder as the needle went in her delicate face to distract her from what was happening.

Finally, with her face sufficiently deadened, the dermatologist began carefully cutting away the cyst. As this point, I definitely felt tears welling up in my eyes as I watched my brave daughter laying on the table with one eye taped close and an abundance of gauze covering her face. Unfortunately, the only thing I could do was helplessly sit there holding an iPad aloft so she could watch her movie with her one uncovered eye while letting her squeeze my free hand.

Every so often, I would get brave enough to take a peek at the doctor’s ongoing work. Those peeks never lasted too long as I would inevitably get a little freaked out at the sight and would return my gaze to Ellie’s lone, uncovered eye or her hand as it squeezed mine. Finally, after about 30 minutes, the delicate procedure was done and Ellie had received a brand-new stitch along with two bandages covering the wound.

Brave girl with a big bandage!

With that, we left the office and hopped in the car to head home. Not knowing how Ellie would feel, Bethany and I had made it clear that it would be up to her whether she returned to school for the day or not. While I honestly hoped she would stay home, I was ultimately leaving it up to her. As we drove, she proceeded to carefully consider both sides of any potential decision before ultimately deciding she wanted to go back to school.

When we got to school, we went inside to sign Ellie back in to school. Before I left though, I made sure that she knew if her face began hurting or she just really needed to come home, I would come right back and get her. With that, she gave me a big hug and bravely headed to class while I exited the school.

If I’m being honest, today was definitely a wide-ranging set of emotions. For one thing, I absolutely hated seeing my daughter in pain. I liked the fact that I could support her through it and be there to help her in any way I could. Lastly, though, I felt immensely proud of her bravery for wanting to head back to school rather than taking the day to hide at home.

All of that being said, I don’t think it’s out of line for me to say that I hope we never have to experience anything of this ilk again anytime soon. We’ll see what happens though!

#DaddyWrite