Bumpa nose

Almost every night, it’s my responsibility to prepare Isabella for bed. I give her bath, then dry her, put on her lotion and diaper, brush her teeth and her hair. It’s the same ritual every night, pretty much with a few seasonal variations.

This is a special opportunity for me, since I’m at work all day and she’s in bed a couple of hours after I get home. This is our chance to spend some time together, just the two of us. I’m not sure how it will work once Sophia is older and has a bedtime ritual too, not to mention the other little ones who come along. Maybe by then Isabella will have (sadly) outgrown our time together.

The video pretty much shows most of it after her diaper is on. We recorded the video for posterity’s sake, to remember what it was like when she was a toddler, but to preserve her modesty we didn’t start the camera until she was basically covered. In any case, the ablutions are followed by prayers with Mommy and Daddy and Sophia in her Isabella’s room and then Daddy reads a story or three until he’s had enough and turns out the light.

In many ways, it’s a special blessing to come home every night to care for my daughters and wife. There are plenty of folks—our servicemen and women, to name one group—who don’t have that luxury. And I am conscious of the fact that the day will come when Isabella won’t need my help to put on her pajamas or brush her teeth or comb her hair, although I hope we never see the day when she’s too old to play “bumpa nose” with her Daddy.

It’s the highlight of my day, after all.