Well, while I’m in the writing mood let’s knock out one of these “this is what my day is like” snapshots.

My alarm is set for 6:20 AM on the weekdays, but I’m usually up before then. Augie… wait a minute. I don’t think I’ve really written on here since we got Augie.

Quick aside then.

When Tristen was doing her first surrogacy, she was in a Facebook group set up by the agency she used to do the surrogacy, and someone on there had some puppies. In Florida. So Tristen decided she wanted to get one. In Florida.

So one St. Patrick’s Day, she and I took a little trip down to St. Augustine. We went out on the town that night and had a real great time. Went to some restaurant with a nice view of the old fort, went through the downtown area made to look like it was from the early days of the city, talked to drunk people, had a nice discussion with the owner of an ice cream shop, and met up with Tristen’s surro-buddy and her husband and got a dog.

The dog in question, whom we named Augie (after the place we got him, obviously), has a dachshund father and a retriever mother. The owners never thought anything could happen, given their size differences and all, but as Dr. Ian Malcolm said,

Yes, life found a way, and Augie was born. My sister Andra got a little brother (but not a littermate) of Augie’s the next year and named him Bruno. Bruno is a smooth brown whereas Augie is black, and Bruno is about twice the size of our Augustine. I guess with parents of such different sizes, you can have a range of dog sizes.

Anyway, that’s Augie. Or Augustine or Augus or Augie-doggy or Gus Gus. He’s a licker and he has extreme FOMO, as seems to be the case with many a dachshund.

What an aside…

Augie often wakes me up around 5:45. Doesn’t matter what time I last let him out the night before. He’s been better lately, but he was consistently getting me up before 6:00 regularly for quite a while.

He, the little prince, is allowed to sleep in the bed while poor little Hazel Basil has to comfort herself in the papasan in the sunroom. To be fair, she can’t jump up on the bed quite as easily, the two of them would sometimes get rowdy playing in the middle of the night, and she doesn’t whine and scratch at the door like Augie does. But she is a terrific snuggler. When she does get to sleep with us, she is a nice, comforting weight between my legs, which I’ll often cross like a 4 when she sleeps with me to help create a little nest for her.

As I was saying, I’m usually up by around 6 AM. I let the dogs out then start working on the boy’s lunches.

Lunches are a pain because they all like different things, and I have a hard time remember who does and who doesn’t like cheese sticks on any given day. I’m a person of routine, you see, and I would rather have a system down where I just make Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches like my dad did for the four of us every school day for almost twenty years. Toss in a couple snacks and tra-la-la we’re good to go.

But no, it’s different sandwiches and different snacks, and sometimes Griffin feels the need to inspect his lunch to see if there’s anything he desires to change.

The boys’ alarm goes off at 6:25. They’re usually pretty good about getting themselves ready, but every now and then I have to go up and get someone moving. Like the day last week where Fawkes was out of sorts because he didn’t want to wear shorts, or when Griffin was on the floor doing nothing for ten minutes because he didn’t want to wear a button-up shirt and instead of just grabbing a different shirt, thought pouting on the floor would be a better use of school day morning time.

But by and large there’s no drama aside from them forgetting socks or me telling whoever was down last to go back up and turn off the lights.

On the weeks we have Milly, she’s up and downstairs at some point. Her school provides breakfasts and lunches, which is terrific. (And really, one of the only downside to the boys going to a public charter is that they don’t have paid-for lunches. That would be SO nice.) She’ll say her goodbyes then drive herself to school.

I remember taking her to school on the last day of school last year and after I dropped her off it hit me that I wouldn’t ever get to do that again. Sure, it was a bit of a pain that her school is half an hour from our house, but we would talk about what her friends are up to, listen to music, she’d let me go on a political rant… Then I’d drop her off and watch her walk away.

I may have talked about this before, but I’m always very cognizant about “last times.” You often never know when the last time you’ll do something is until well after the fact, so recognizing the ones you can, those are special moments to me. When is the last time I’ll pick my kids up? (I picked Milly up a few days ago, despite her being about as tall as I am. And I take every opportunity I can to toss the boys up in the air and have tickle fights.)

God, another tangent. That’s what y’all like about my writing though, right?

Okay, so the boys are dressed, they get their shoes on, pack up their backpacks, eat breakfast. Lately breakfast has been Apple Jacks (it’s been hard finding a cereal all three of them consistently like), but a lot of times it’s been two Eggos with peanut butter for Phoenix, one Eggo with either jelly or butter and cinnamon for Fawkes, and a handful of dry cereal for Griffin, if I can even get him to eat that much.

Tristen is usually up by this time, so I’m off to get dressed and pack some clothes then we’re out the door at 7:10 and heading to the bus stop up the road. Once the boys are away I head up to the gym.

I’ve been going to the Y for almost a year and a half I guess- started going the summer before this one. Consistency has varied, but for the most part I’ve gone at least three days a week. I think I’m currently on a three week streak (weekdays only).

While I mostly listen to podcasts while I’m there. I started with Fake Doctors, Real Friends as I always loved Scrubs, but now it’s mostly The History of Rome and The Bulwark with two Duke podcasts and The Weekly Show with Jon Stewart when they’re available and a smattering of Pod Save America. I really dig Rome, but it’s one I really like paying attention to, so I don’t listen to it quite as often as the others, like when I’m working.

I’ve been going long enough now that I’ve got a little crew. I mostly talk with Joe and Morgan, usually have a chat with Will when I see him, and have some words when I see Godfrey (who always enthusiastically points out that he woke up when you ask how he’s doing). I’ve had a few chats with a few other people, but those are my regulars. Honestly, part of the reason I don’t just invest in a home gym is that I like the social aspect of going.

I’m usually home by 11 then work through the day until dinner, which, really is pretty sweet. Tristen picks up the boys and I always take a break to greet and talk to them, sometimes doing a little extra work with them. But generally I work until dinner. At some point during the work day Tristen (who also works from home) will meander in, lay down on my office couch, and distract me. She really tries to distract me sometimes if she wanders by while I’m on the phone with a client.

After dinner sometimes we watch something, sometimes we play something, sometimes I go back to work if everyone is doing something. Milly got a job at a pizza chain a little while back, so she’s here or she’s not. It feels so grown up to have her come home after 9:00 sometimes, coming home from a job. She seems to enjoy it though, and I’m sure it doesn’t hurt that her significant other and another friend work with her.

Bedtime can be a little stressful, mainly because the boys are sometimes wound up and don’t listen. I’ve found it’s much easier to tell them to get pajamas on and brush their teeth if they’ve got something they want to do, like finish a movie or something, before they do the activity. They’re (a little) more motivated to get it done, and once it’s actually bedtime there’s less stress in trying to get them to focus on bedtime activities.

Once in bed they get to read. Fawkes and Phoenix have been reading novels since last summer. Griffin’s been slower to pick up on reading, but he’s really doing so much better lately. Most nights the last few weeks he’s asked me to read with him, to help him figure out words and such. I’m really proud of his progress.

The sad part of them reading, though, is that I think The Adventure Story is done. A couple years ago I started making up a story about the three of them going on adventures. There’s a whole fantasy world and quite a few recurring characters. I’d just make it up on the spot, though sometimes I’d think ahead to have a general plot or at least anding in mind. Sometimes I’d be inspired by existing stories, but they’d often spin off into tales of their own.

I started recording the stories at some point, so I’ve got a bunch of them on my phone. I thought about putting them out as a podcast just to preserve them for the boys.

The current (unfinished) storyline is called The Unknown Robber. I’m pretty sure the boys came up with the title and I just made it up as I went along. I was getting towards winding it down. Some time back I thought about how I wanted the final story to go. Maybe I’ll just record those on my own. I definitely want to give it an ending. (No, there’s nothing in my eyes. Someone must be chopping onions. In my office. At 9:50 at night.)

Anyway, when Milly’s around I’ll usually go chat with her for a few minutes after the boys are in bed, then I’m off downstairs to hang out with the wife for a bit.

I do usually stay up after she goes to bed. I recently watched Band of Brothers and King and Conqueror as my “Let’s watch something Tristen might not care to watch” shows.

I’ll also do my French lesson at this time. I’m on a (checks phone) 1,419 day streak of studying French on Duolingo. Do I remember everything? Am I fluent? No. And I have a hard time understanding it when it’s spoken kind of fast, but I can generally read it pretty well. I could probably get by if I somehow found myself transported to some field in the middle of France.

Weekends are varied enough that it’s not worth getting into those, except to say that at least one weekend morning I will be pressed into making my famous scramble pancakes. Milly saw something about them online one time so I tried it out and now the kids love it. Whoever you are reading this, if we’re ever hanging out one weekend morning, ask me about it and I’ll make you some. They’re pancakes, but they taste almost like funnel cake.