For the West Coast, I think I put in some pretty respectable hours at work. My wife takes care of our son and our home. I refer to her as CEO of Fatzinger, Inc., as she is, in actuality, the boss, but also because she has a job far more difficult than mine. That of managing the lives of two boys separated in age by 38 years. For the most part, I come back in to the world of my wife and son when his day has only a few hours left in it.  

Today, as my wife was out with friends, I got to spend almost the entire day with him.  Just father and son. It’s not that I don’t spend time with him. Most of our evenings and all our weekends include the three of us, give or take a couple of hours here and there. I’ve spent only two nights away from him in his 15 months.

One-on-one is different.  A dad needs a day with his boy every once in a while. A boy needs a day with his dad every once in a while.  

During our trip to the Museum of Flight, we wandered. I tried to tell him what I knew about aircraft. He pushed a lot of buttons. We had some lunch together. I bought him a children’s book about airplanes. 

In the book I wrote a little note on the inside cover. I thanked him for this day, May 1, 2010. The day we watched the planes, went to the museum, had lunch, took a nap, played around the house, then waited on the porch for mommy to come home.

A day he’ll probably never remember. A day I’ll never forget.