"Daddy, can you open this?"
Haha! Daddies live for moments like this. Lucia and Teresa and Jojo are sitting at the table, and Daddy has a chance to show his Olympian strength and be their hero. I rub my hands together.
[Of course, this family has no illusions. Everyone knows that there are many things that Daddy can't do. Daddy's sick, Daddy takes medicines, Daddy goes to doctors, Daddy rarely drives the car, Daddy doesn't teach anymore, Daddy's tired, Daddy's nervous, Daddy's tired, but he has written a book. And they can bother him anytime they want. Daddy can answer questions. He reads a lot. He works on the computer a lot.]But my hands feel fine right now, and I'm the king of opening jars. I can also reach things in high places, and I can kill crickets. Gimme that jar.
Oof oof ow ow...these are usually easy but this one won't budge.
"Can you get me that thingamagigger that grips the lid?" Lucia gets it and brings it to me.
Lid secure, but now the jar is slipping in my other hand. My hand is almost circling the jar. What, did they glue this thing on?
Towels don't help. "Where's Mommy?" someone says. Hey, if I can't do this, Mommy can't do it either. How about both of us?
Mommy grabs the jar with both hand and I take the lid with both hands. Its not working. The jar moves.
This is the toughest jar of pickles I have ever encountered.
We decide to switch. I take the jar with both my hands and dig in, while Eileen takes both hands and turns the thingamagiggger on the lid. "Arrrrrgh!"
POP!
Success at last. It took both of us using all our strength. But the girls wanted pickles. Mommies and Daddies work together to take care of their kids. We do it hundreds of times a day without even noticing it. Its just being a family.
