Now that's a Dad yell...

It was a little late on a Thursday night. I was going to be helping my friend, Jeff, the next day moving some stuff. We were on my cell phone talking about details of the move when I heard Julia call out from upstairs.

I was in the basement on the couch and I hear, "Daddy?" faintly.

Then it gets louder.

"Daddy?"

"Daddy!?"

"DADDY!"

I tell Jeff, "Hold on a second."

I pull the phone from my ear and put the earpiece down by my stomach.

I suddenly yell, "WHAT?!"

I normally wouldn't yell, but Julia has gotten into the bad habit of getting into bed and then suddenly calling out to us for odd requests.

Here are a list of her requests in recent weeks:

"I'm hot."

"I'm thirsty."

"My leg hurts."

"Where's my little dog?"

"I need a baby blanket."

"Moe (the cat) wants in my bed."

"I want to tell you something (usually a question about the next day)."

"I want to show you something (usually a small toy she's placed in a bag."

"I didn't give you a hug (not true)."

"I didn't give you a kiss (not true)."

"I want the hall light on."

"I want the laundry room light on."

"I need to find (some toy)."

and so on...

It wouldn't irritate me so much if it wasn't almost every night. You can barely leave and walk downstairs without a request from her highness. A lot of times, we're downstairs and she yells, but then doesn't wait for a response it goes like "Daddy! Daddy! Da(What!)ddy! Da(What!?)ddy!

I'm writing this because while some of the requests are cute, a lot of them are just wastes of time. My hope is that when she becomes a teenager, I can keep waking her up in the morning when she's trying to sleep with odd requests.

"Where's my toothbrush (in my hand).?"

"I'm hot."

"I'm thirsty."

"Julia! Ju(what?)lia!"

I suppose I shouldn't be so cruel. After all, I can recall many nights when I'd get out of bed and my parents would be mad at me for being out of bed. At one point, I would feign a stomach ache in order to get some Pepto Bismol from my Mom because I liked the taste and it allowed me to be up for a while. That trick didn't last too long, though.

I guess I could just end up as the corny Dad that makes the kids laugh, but mortifies the daughter with remarks like, "Hey kids, don't get all... wack on me. I can (makes air quotes) dig it."

Julia will be all, "Oh no he didn't!"

I can't wait! (rubs hands evily together)

Back to Jeff...

I get put the phone back to my ear and Jeff says, "Oh my God! I'm deaf! God!"

I say, "Oh, sorry."

"Now that's a Dad yell!" Jeff said laughing. "I haven't heard a yell like that since I was living at home!"

"Now let me switch to the ear that isn't ringing..."