On parenting duty

I was out with Clara and Charlie, happily making our way through the world, when someone I know stopped me and asked where Elysha was.

I told the person that she was off on some other adventure, at which point the person said, “So you’re on parenting duty. Huh?”

I explained to the person that I have been on parenting duty every single day for more than 13 years.

I also explained to the person that although Elysha was not with us, she, too, was still on parenting duty.

We’ve both been on parenting duty, I said, since the moment we discovered that Elysha was pregnant.

The job doesn’t stop simply because my children are no longer in my line of sight. Regardless of where I am or what I am doing, I am on parenting duty.

Perhaps there are some off-the-clock parents in this world, but Elysha and I are not them.