Sheppie's Choice

I found myself in a Meryl Streep moment last week when I had to choose between saving Marni from drowning or keeping my beloved iPhone dry.

Hurricane Bill had whipped up the surf at OOB and we were keeping the girls close to shore. Stella and Marni were happily frolicking in the ankle-deep water. Lisa and Nana Audrey had things well in-hand nearby, so I decided to make a call to Nana Bev.

No sooner did I start to chat with my mother than a rogue wave knocked Marni off her feet. The surging water was tumbling Marni end-over-end up to the dry sand, but when she stopped tumbling, she was face down on her hands and knees in the water.

The moment I dreaded was upon me. Do I save my child, or do I save my iPhone? Evidently instinct overruled reason. The next thing I knew I was scooping up Marni with one arm while trying to hold the iPhone out of the water with the other. But the scooping action resulted in the iPhone taking a dip.

I brought a sputtering Marni up to safety. After making sure she was ok (not even crying), I glanced at the iPhone. Not good.

Power off. Dry as much as possible. Search the Internet for solutions.

After a day packed in a container with a commercial dampness-ridding product, the iPhone mostly came back to life. But it was mute. No sound.

I resigned myself to the fact that I would have to send the phone into the shop for repair or replacement. Even more horrible was the realization that I would be the first nincompoop in the company to ruin their iPhone.

And then... "click, click, click". A miracle! After a day of use, sound began coming out of the phone.

What a lucky guy I am. Not only did I save my Marni, but I also saved my iPhone.

Now, Marni has a great tale to tell all who will listen about the wave that knocked her over. The dad that scooped her up. And the phone that got broke during her rescue.

So the Sophie's Choice question of Marni or iPhone has been answered. Next up... Stella or the GPS, and Lisa or the DVR.

Overheard #20

The American flag is known to both girls as the "Barak Obama Flag".

Beddie Buddies

One of the social experiments we have undertaken at the cottage is the "share the bed" experiment.

Last summer, Marni was in a crib. Earlier this year she graduated to a big-girl bed. So the plan has been to have the sisters sleep together in a real big-girl bed. It's never been done before. Would it really work?

We warmed them up to the idea a few weeks prior to moving up to the cottage. Night 1 went without incident (almost). We read them some books in the bed and then turned off the lights and laid down with them. But Marni went ballistic when she realized that she wouldn't get her usual few minutes in the rocking chair. There is no rocking chair in their cottage bedroom. We faked it and rocked her in the bed.

So far so good until about 3 a.m. when Stella came into our room and climbed in bed. Just like what she did all last year. So I moved next door and slept the rest of the night with Marni. She's cute.

No rocking chair meltdown on night 2. But instead of one visitor in the middle of the night, both girls came into our room and climbed into bed. No room for daddy, so I went next door again and had the whole pretty pink room all to myself.

Night 3 went smoothly also. But I had a little chat with Stella before lights-out and asked her if she thought she could sleep all night in her bed. She said ok. I didn't really expect my request to work, but we haven't had any midnight visitors since then!

We're up to about night 21 now and, without exception, the girls have slept very well together. They sleep soundly all night and come out of the bedroom together usually between 7 or 8 a.m.

I would have to rate Operation Beddie Buddies a rousing success.

We're 2!

Happy birthday to The Daddy Diary (if I do say so myself).

159 posts and still going strong. Now if Mr. Spielberg would please contact me for movie rights then maybe I can make some money off this thing.

Stella's First Installation

We finally got to see the installation of some of Stella's best finger-painting work, tastefully displayed in the bathroom of a Salem, Massachusetts law office.

If you ever have to do a real estate closing (and poop), this is the place to be.

Splish Splash

I haven't gone into the water past my knees at OOB since I was in my twenties. It's cold! And I don't swim all that well.

Last weekend I broke that 30-year streak.

We were a couple days into a 90 degree heatwave. And the water temperature actually warmed up so much that hypothermia was no longer an issue.

At one point I actually stripped off my shirt (down girls!), grabbed a boogie board and went in. Alert the media! But I wasn't the only one enjoying the tropical weather. Stella and Marni went koo-koo and embraced their inner mermaids.

Marni romped and splashed and "high-fived" in the surf wearing nothing but her Dora underwear. Stella went waaaaay out into the water with new BFF, cousin Janet.

Overheard #19

As I slurped a soda while eating at a restaurant with the family, Stella asked "Daddy, do you love me more than Pepsi?".

I paused...

4-3=0

Maybe when you're counting jellybeans then 4 minus 3 would equal 1. But when my girls are in Maine and I'm in Brooklyn then 4 minus 3 feels like zero.

I used to count down the months, weeks, days, and hours until my "summer freedom".

"Summer freedom" being defined as the month in the summer when my wife and kids stay in Maine and I have many days all to myself back in Brooklyn. I would get giddy with the possibilities. Watch t.v. Turn it up loud. Stay up late. Go to movies. Leave kitchen cabinet doors open.

Over the years though, the joy has leached out of the freedom. I began to miss those kids (and my wife) more than I valued my bachelorlyness.

I stopped going into the girls' room because it was depressing not to see them there. Eventually I started to shut the door to their room for the entire month. I didn't even want to see their room if they weren't playing in it. Now I've stopped sleeping in my bed. Instead, I sleep downstairs on the couch. I don't like sleeping in an empty bed (except, of course, if it's in a luxury hotel room).

Yesterday I walked past Marni's school on my way to work. The owners were out front as I approached. We chatted about Marni and how she was missed at school during August. I teared up and ended the conversation.

As I walked down the street I passed many, many Park Slope parents with their kids. I smiled at them. But I was missing my essential Park Slope accessories... Stella and Marni. I felt the need to wear a bumper sticker saying "Hey! I've got kids too!".

Tomorrow I fly back to Maine to rejoin the family for the weekend. Then, zero plus 3 will equal 4.

The Girls Do Cohan

As I mentioned previously, the girls have become big George M. Cohan fans ever since watching Jimmy Cagney in Yankee Doodle Dandy.

Tonight the stars aligned and Stella and Marni performed a couple of tunes on camera. We're still working on the lyrics.

Old Orchard Beach: Take 52

Old Orchard Beach (OOB) is the most constant place in my life.

I was born in Hartford but moved away by the time I was in first grade. I grew up in Natick, but haven't lived there in at least 29 years. And those past 29 years have been split between New York and New Jersey. But nothing compares to the 52 years that I've spent "summering" at Old Orchard Beach, Maine.

My father spent every summer there as a kid. I spent every summer there as a kid. Now my kids are spending their summers at OOB.

So begins summer 52 for me. Summer 6 for Stella. And summer 4 for Marni.

Even though the cottage remains the same, there are some slight changes this year...

This year there are no diapers. There are no cribs. And the girls now sleep together in the same bed.

Stella and Marni have picked up exactly where they left off last year. They have their beach routine down. They know their way around the cottage as if it was their year-round home. They know their cousins from across the street and down the road. And they know that less than a mile away is their favorite amusement park (sorry Coney Island).

Now begins their new summer adventure. Take 6 and take 4.