Lord, What Have I Become?

I was at a store the other day, buying a new pair of used shoes. I'm waiting in line for way too long in a store that's way too loud, and suddenly this little girl, 'bout three and a half, starts howling. She's five feet away from me, fifteen feet from the door, clinging to her sippy and wailing away.

The old me, the sensible me, would have rolled his eyes. He would have thought sarcastic thoughts inwardly and groaned outwardly. He probably would have taken this opportunity to make an already unpleasant situation more unpleasant.

But the new me? Something twanged inside my belly. I started to wonder if the kid was lost. I looked around for something that might look like a parent. I swear, I was even thinking about going up to the kid, kneeling down, and asking if she was okay. Seriously.

Clearly, fatherhood changes a man, and not always for the better.

Am I Really That Easy?

Wrig: It's four days until chocolate night, but it's only three days until Saturday!
Me: What's Saturday?
W: Eleanor's birthday party!
Christie: You gonna go?
E: Um ... No.
W: But, Ed, you might get a piece of cake at the birthday party ...