Run Daddy Run

Have you guys noticed how everything falls into place when we travel with your mom or wife? Every small thing, which you hardly notice, fits into places.

And when we are traveling without them, even the tiniest thing, which we hardly pay attention to, will come crashing into our heads like a big headache.

If you guys have been stuck in that situation, you will understand exactly what I am talking about. For those who haven’t gone through or haven’t noticed, let me share my story with you guys.

This event happened a few years ago when my son was around 3. My wife wanted to attend her friend’s marriage, and the ceremony was close to her parent’s house, so she took our son and decided to stay a couple more days.

One day before they returned, my wife called and told me to pick up our son one day early. So she could do some shopping without worrying about him all the time. Instead of travelling in my bullet, I decided to travel by bus and metro to make it easier and more fun for him.

It was Sunday. I got up early, around 6 am, took a bath, got dressed, had breakfast and left home around 9 am.  From our house to my in-law’s place is around 20 km.

In bullet, it takes 30 min or so, and by bus and metro, it takes around 60 minutes because of multiple stops and traffic on a road by bus. When I reached my in-law’s place, my son was already ready and jumping around the house.

He ran towards me, grabbed my jeans and t-shirt, and started climbing on top of me, sitting on my shoulder, and pulling my hair. I tried to get him down, and he wouldn’t let go. He was very excited to see me.

After spending a couple of hours at my in-law’s place, my wife had already packed a few of his clothes and toys in a bag. He kissed everyone and said goodbye. We took the bus to the metro station.

All the way, my son told me his amazing stories and adventures, all the fights, and complaints he had about his grandparents. Everyone on the bus was laughing and enjoying his stories. Soon we reached the metro station, got down and headed towards the metro.

To enter, we had to go through a security checkup and bag scanning. We only needed 1 ticket for me, and my son, being only 3 years old, got a free ride. Near the counter, I met one of my friends after a long time.

It had been almost two years since we last met. We sat near one of the waiting areas and talked about a few things while my son played around us. After about half an hour, my friend said goodbye to me, and we took the escalator down towards the metro instead of the lift.

My son was excited about every new experience. The train comes every 3 minutes during peak hours and 5 minutes after the peak time. As we waited, I answered all the questions he had thrown at me.

Suddenly, out of nowhere, my son said he needed to pee. I never thought he would say that or even consider that possibility. First, I was shocked by what he said, but in front of other people, I didn’t lose my cool; I acted like I was expecting him to say that and told him to come, let’s find the restroom.

First, I made him walk; after 10 steps, he said, “Carry me.” I carried him towards the restroom, but to my bad luck, the men’s restroom was under maintenance, and I couldn’t send my son into the women’s restroom.

  We approached the nearest security guard and asked him for another restroom. He said there was one on the other side of the platform, but it was only for staff members. We thanked him and headed towards the next platform.

My son looked at me and said if I don’t go there fast, he will pee in the pants only.  I was like, “Oh no, hold on,” and I started running in the metro.

We were the centre of attention in the metro, and everyone was looking at us. My son was guiding me. Telling me where to go. Even though he didn’t know where we were going.

We ran around for almost 5 minutes but still couldn’t find the restroom. Finally, we spotted a security guard and asked him.

He said no restroom without even thinking. I explained the situation, and he told us to take a few small steps and go; we would find it.

We ran towards the staircase and climbed, and I found myself in an empty hall. My son reminded me he needed to pee. I told him to hold on and looked around for the restroom.

We approached a lady and asked her where to find the restroom. She pointed towards one of the doors and told us to go straight and take a right. We finally reached the restroom.

I put my son down, and he went in. I stood outside. I wiped the sweat off my forehead and waited. It didn’t take long.

My son walked out and said he finished. It didn’t take any more than 10 to 15 seconds. I heard the flushing sound, and so my son walked out and said, “Finished.”

He turned around but didn’t stop walking and said, “I am hungry and wanted to go home.

I hugged and kissed him, made him sit on my shoulder, and walked towards the exit.

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