Yay, DEE! (or: cheerleading for toddlers)

Yesterday I had an appointment that got changed from midday to late afternoon at the last minute. I was fairly sure I'd never be back in time to pick Otter up from daycare before it closed, so I called G and he volunteered to leave work early and do the pick-up.

Of course, having made those arrangements, I got done with my appointment in record time, hit no traffic coming back, and and beat G to daycare by about five minutes. And G very kindly didn't seem at all resentful that he'd rushed out of work on his busiest day of the week--for nothing.

So we all headed in both cars off to the market, where we got a prescription filled (I taught Otter to say "phar-ma-CY"; all through the store he kept saying it, liking the way it rolled off his tongue, or possibly just liking the way it made me laugh every time). And despite the quick marketing trip turning into a basketful of mainly beverages (seltzer, cranberry juice, bottled water, soy milk, more seltzer, Izze grapefruit soda, orange juice, yet more seltzer--did I mention seltzer was on sale, 10 2-liters for five bucks?), despite being the one who stood in line for cheese at our quite-frustrating deli, despite my changing our plans on what to eat for dinner repeatedly in fifteen minutes (subs! no, mac and cheese! no, veggie stroganoff!), G remained cheery.

He even stayed that way when we came out of the market into an outside world that had switched from sunny and warm to blustery and drizzling, even when we had loaded Otter and me and the lighter half of the groceries into my car. He stayed smiling even when Otter and I sat dry and warm and sheltered in my car waving to G while he loaded the many many many bottles of seltzer into his car in the drizzling cold rain and then took the cart back to the cart corral.

So when we left the market, G was, absolutely, my hero. Which isn't unusual; that happens regularly. Not only does he make me laugh hard, on an average more than twenty times a day, quite a feat given that he works all day, but he is a fabulous cook, a stunningly great parent, and a skilled juggler. And I mean that not as in: hey, he multi-tasks well, but as in: hey, he can pick up three or four objects (balls, Fisher Price Little People, plastic Easter eggs) and get them all spinning madly in the air at once.

Plus his many other sterling qualities, including his apparent enjoyment of being married to me, with all of my many virtues and (a-hem) eccentricities.

So on the way home, with G in his car following Otter and me in my car, I taught Otter the following chant...

Oh wait, for this to make sense, you need to know that when he was little, Otter didn't always say "daddy" but sometimes just "DEE!"

Okay, back to the chant:
Dee, we love you!
Dee, we missed you!
Dee, you're great!
Yay, Dee!

And after I said each line, Otter would chime in with me to repeat it from the back seat with enthusiasm.

When we got home, and G opened my passenger side door to get groceries, Otter and I did our cheerleading routine for him, with waving arms of joy at the "YAY, DEE!"

We did it again this morning as G was about to leave for work (with "we'll miss you" substituted for "we missed you.").

I try my best to be an appreciative partner.