Baby It's Cold Inside!

I've always heard that parents will go above and beyond for their kids without a single hesitation. As soon as that beautiful child is born, taking care of them and protecting them comes naturally. Well last night, I protected my own daughter for the very first time.

Of all the things that I've dreamt about protecting my daughter from (drugs, alcohol, crime, boys, Red Sox fans, Jay), I never thought that my first act of protection would be from the elements. I mean, it's not like we live in areas of natural disaster. After all, we live in New Jersey! That doesn't mean anything to our house apparently, or more specifically, our heating system.

I got home around 7pm last night, and the house was a little cold, but was far warmer than being outside. It wasn't until around 10:30 that I thought mommy might not be the only one who felt cold (which is usually the case). Turns out, our heater was broken. Kaylani didn't seem to notice since she was in her pajamas and swaddled in her crib already, but something was gnawing at me. I tried to get some sleep and convince myself that the heater issue could wait until the morning. I mean, it was still 68 degrees in the house.

As bad as this sounds, if it was just mommy and me at home, I would have piled on another blanket, and been snoring within minutes. But my life has changed. I'm a dad and there's a life that depends on me. So after tinkering with the heater for 40 minutes (gas off, power off, power on, gas on, etc), I acted without a second thought. I pulled on a sweatshirt, my shoes, and I took off for a 24 hour CVS about 15 minutes away.

I came home 45 minutes later with 3 portable heaters, 1 for each of our rooms. Mommy was in Kaylani's room holding her to keep her warm (temp had dropped to 60 by 1am), and we decided to have a sleepover right there. Futon was unfolded, space heater cranked up, and the 3 of us stayed in our own warm little cave all night. Kaylani cried for a bit, and she stirred and moved, but I was at peace with myself. My little girl would not go cold. Not on my watch.

Now it's possible that I overreacted. I don't think she would have turned into a popsicle, but the remote chance that she could was enough for me to switch into protective mode. Luckily we had a great PSE&G guy come over in the afternoon and fix our heater (after 3 separate trips to the store to get the right part), and the house is now back up to a comfortable 72 degrees. That's 22 degrees warmer then it was when we woke up this morning, but its not even comparable to the warmth that Kaylani provides me all the time.

This little girl is my life. She is the warmth in my life, so it's only fair that I am the warmth in hers. And nothing is going to stop me from being just that.