Daddy’s Home — “What Did You Bring Me?”

  
For the last two weeks Shay has stood at the top of the stairs that lead down to the garage and looked longingly for Russ. Every little sound and she would whine in complete sadness that her Daddy was not home. Try explaining to an Australian Labradoodle that her master has gone to her homeland.
Today her wish came true and she shook and shuttered as she stood on her hind legs cheering as Russ came in through the door. Even though he hasn’t slept in over 24 hours Russ went ahead and emptied his suitcase into the laundry hamper. As he was doing it Shay got in on the action and looked through his bag for a present for her.
This brought back memories of my childhood when my sisters and I would greet my father at the door after a business trip and ask him, “What did you bring me?” He almost always came up with some small gift, even if it was just a candy bar he had bought at the airport. It was a terrible habit to train your kids that you bring them a gift every time you go away.
Since Russ has always traveled a lot for work we purposely decided not to start the “been away guilt gift” with Carter. It doesn’t even dawn on her to ask if Russ brought her something from Australia. I am not sure how our dog got this way. Perhaps it is because Shay knows the real present she wants is a dirty sock or two, something she is sure is in that suit case.
For me the best present is having Russ home. I know he is exhausted and will be passing out in a moment or two. My present for him is that I am not going to mention that I can’t seem to be able to change the channel on the TV in the sunroom. That little bit of info can wait until his jet lag is over. At least I am happy for him not to bring me a candy bar.