Perfect Peace [part 3]

Then the kids woke up, and the peace bubble burst.

Danny, his nine-year-old son, stirred from slumber first. Maggie, his twelve-year-old daughter, followed close behind and started the day’s argument by insisting that Danny was taking too long in the bathroom.

“We need to get a place with more bathrooms,” Anne had been saying recently, seemingly all the time. And for good reason, too.

“This is the epicentre of hostility in this house, the bathroom,” Paul thought. It would all be better if only the kids had more bathrooms. First-world problems, he mused.

Anne got up soon after the yelling started and began to referee; Paul could hear from the kitchen.

“Well,” Paul thought, “at least I got to enjoy my coffee!”

He started the breakfast, making eggs and toast for everyone, and ate with the kids with casual detachment.

“So, guys, are you excited about our little road trip today?” Anne asked, aimed toward the kids but looking at Paul for a contribution of excitement.

“Yeah, I guess so,” replied Danny. “What are we going to do there?”

“Listen to some boring lectures, according to Mom,” added Maggie.

“Really? Lectures? That sounds boring, Mom,” Danny replied.

“Oh, come on, guys, it will be more than just lectures! There will be cool demonstrations by monks who meditate for so long that they can levitate and do all sorts of amazing things! Just wait and see. It’ll be so much fun!”

“Sounds kind of like a circus to me, Mom,” Maggie said.

Paul chuckled while chewing, and Maggie and Danny started laughing. Anne glared at Paul.

“What? It was funny; that was great timing,” he explained.

“OK, well, you’ll see, it will be fun, and you’ll thank me later,” Anne said to them. “There are some yoga demonstrations, and maybe you guys can try that. There will be yogis and music and dancing. I think we’ll all have a great time.”

“I’m sure we will, honey,” Paul chimed in. “It’s a beautiful day, by the looks of things, and we’ll get to take a drive in the mountains. At the very least, being together for the day will be great. I’m pumped to get out of town and see something different!”

“Finish your breakfast, kids,” Anne told them, “and get ready to get out of here. We’re leaving in twenty minutes!”

An hour later, they were in the car. Paul was already beginning to get agitated. Maggie had forgotten her iPad charger and had to return to the house. Danny forgot his camera. Anne forgot something that she had to bring with her. Paul forgot his wallet.

So much for leaving on schedule.

In the meantime, while he was waiting on the driveway for his family, he received a call that the agent who had agreed to handle his open house the next day had to cancel. He had to make three more phone calls to reschedule his Sunday appointments.

The juggling seemed never-ending  in  trying to put deals together for people. There was constant scheduling and rescheduling meetings with people to show them what they wanted to see, hoping that things would come together and he would ultimately get paid.

So that was a bit of a piss-off.

“Dammit, guys,” he started. “We’re already more than half an hour behind schedule. You know how much I hate being late!”

Maggie turned up the volume on her iPad, and Danny just stared out his back window. “Here it comes,” they were both thinking.

“How can we be late, Paul?” Anne replied. “There’s no time limit. It’s on all day.”

“That’s not the point, Anne. We made a plan to leave by a certain time. What would happen if there was an emergency? Would we take an hour to get out of the house?”

“Well, there was no emergency. We will have fun. No one is waiting for us….”

“Right, this time there isn’t. But we need to make a habit of being more disciplined. How can you be successful if you can’t make it out the door on time?”

“Paul, you always do this. Why are you stressing about getting there? I thought you didn’t even want to go to this thing. God knows you could use some yoga….”

“Really? I’m going because you wanted me to go. That’s what a husband does. But now we’ve wasted an hour getting ready, and the traffic is heavier, and therefore it’s going to take more time to get there, and it’s shifted our whole day later. Don’t you see that?”

“Oh, so we’re late because of me? I was ready, you know. You forgot your wallet, do you recall?”

“Yeah! I forgot my damn wallet! And you all forgot some crap too! And while I’m waiting around, I had to make a bunch of calls and my whole weekend is screwed up!”

“That’s not our fault, Paul! You can’t get pissed off and throw a tantrum at me because you’re stressing about work. It’s not fair! You have to knock this off! You’re going to give yourself a heart attack one of these days, and you’re giving me a headache!”

The kids looked at each other, and both rolled their eyes.

“Fine,” he started after a few breaths. “I’m sorry, OK?”

“That’s fine, Paul. You shouldn’t have come if you didn’t want to.”

“Really? I shouldn’t have come. That’s great, Anne. Thanks. Now I shouldn’t have come. Just great.”

“I didn’t mean you shouldn’t have come. You shouldn’t feel like you had to, just for my sake. I heard about this and thought it would be a nice way to spend the day together. But obviously, you’re not that into it, I get it. But I don’t understand why you have to freak out about when we get there. Who cares? It’s supposed to be fun, so have fun, and relax!”

“Yeah,” he replied after glaring at her for a moment. “You’re right. You’re always right.”

“That’s not it, Paul. It really isn’t about being right. It’s about being together and enjoying life for one day together – without stressing, worrying, meetings, sales, bills, or anything else. Just let go for a while and have fun with the kids. What’s the point of all the hard work if you can’t enjoy it?”

“I get it, Anne, I do. It’s just that I spend so much time and energy trying to make things happen that are productive, and at work, I feel like I have so little control over what happens and what people decide to do that it just frustrates me sometimes; you know? I try so hard to do well and give you guys a good life, and the only way to make that happen is by being on top of my game and not letting little things slide. I can’t control what other people do, but I can control what I do. That’s the only constant I can depend on.”

“Well, you can depend on us, Paul. We’re always here for you, and you know that. I love you, we all love you, and we appreciate the sacrifices that you have to make to get things done for the family. But you can’t let that stress spill over into your life. It’s not worth it to get so upset about things you can’t control.”

“Sounds like yoga is doing you good.”

“Yeah, it has. I wish you’d try it too. Maybe you’ll change your mind today and give it a shot.”

“Not bloody likely,” he thought, smiling vacantly at Anne.