Poor Daniel...

I finally won one. I mean it! Of all of the battles over who is the cooler parent, the one who stays at home, does the laundry, drives everyone all over town and cooks chickens instead of McDonalds, rarely wins. But today, December 14, 2009, I finally won one.

Daniel, as all kids do, left important information for the very last minute. As in, that he needs a box of graham crackers for building gingerbread houses at school in the morning. The clock rolled over to 8:45pm as he swore that his teacher only told him about it today, and that he didn’t mean to not tell me, until the last minute, again.

I must have made the face. You know, The Mom Look. That scowl that puts fear into the hearts of little boys and scares the bejesus out of husbands when they say something inappropriate at dinner parties.

Suddenly the living room was void of testosterone as both Jamie and Daniel scuttled off to Sobey’s in search of graham crackers; 15 minutes before closing. I am willing to bet they got the face from the poor woman who just wanted to get off her feet, instead of selling graham crackers at closing time.

I was changing a diaper when the door flew open and Daniel stormed in, huffing and puffing. I thought it was just too cold for him out, since it’s -30 and he wasn't wearing gloves or a hat. But then I hear him yell- Like I have never heard him yell.

“I am never going to the store with Dad without you again!” he fumes. “He is so hard to get along with! I told him that I needed graham crackers like I told you and he couldn’t find them but he wouldn’t look for them like you do! He got me these!"

With that, he grabs the bag, rustles around for a minute, and throws the box on the table.

Sure enough, just as I might have expected, he bought Stoned Wheat Thins.


“I am going to get beat up!” he wails. Being an 11 year old is a serious business. “I can’t even believe Dad. He is ridiculous! You would never even suggest I go to school with whole wheat crackers!”

I interject, wondering because Jamie is not yet in the house, if Daniel had stomped his way back from the supermarket in dangerously low temperatures leaving his father reading the nutritional information on random items.

He was plugging in the car. They had driven home together at least.

“What am I going to do?” he moans. “Dad called me ungrateful and I still have these horrible crackers. Who makes gingerbread out of Stone Wheat Crackers?” he spits, reading the box. Life really is pretty bad in this kid’s world right now- I don’t disagree. This is a predicament of epic proportions for a 6th grader.

I feel like I should point out that I have never heard of making gingerbread houses with graham crackers either, but it’s hardly the time for that.

Anyway. The crackers are in his book bag, because the store is closed. It’s too late for me to fix it now. He will for sure be made fun of tomorrow, making a whole wheat gingerbread house. But I got to win one.

Daniel yelling, “But Dad, at least Amy is cool enough to find the good crackers,” means that finally, after all the times he has thrown me out of the hockey dressing room because having a parent in there is embarrassing (though only when it’s the girl parent), I got to be the cool one.

Yup, that’s right folks. I am cool. A 6th grader who eats whole wheat crackers instead of cookies told me so.

I do though, have a sneaking suspicion ,that it’s going to be a long time before he forgets to tell me these things again. I bet you from now on; he will be calling me at recess to get me out to the supermarket, just in case. He won’t run the risk of leaving it with Jamie again.