De Ja Vu All Over Again

Sporting News Radio called and scheduled another Saturday morning interview with me during the same time my wife goes to her aerobics. If you've already read my July 2 post, you probably have an idea of where this is going.

Five minutes before the interview all was well. Three minutes before both the three-year-old and the eight-month-old start whining. The eight-year-old says, "Oh no. They're getting ready." Soon everything is in control again, though. Minutes later the call comes in. I step out onto the deck and begin the interview. The questions are complex and have to do with the Lance Armstrong doping allegations. I turn my back on the house to avoid distractions so that I can give good answers.

Right in the middle of answering a tough question I hear a knock on the sliding glass door behind me. I turn around and my eight-year-old is wearing a frantic expression and saying something she clearly believes is urgent. I look around the house for smoke but can't see any. I decide to finish my interview but the only hope is to turn my back on her. I do, and a she starts crying so hard that I assume it was audible over the radio.

I complete the rest of the interview and then hurry into the house to figure out what went wrong. Apparently the eight-year-old, a little overenthusiastic about her temporary position of authority, decided to put the three-year-old in time-out. She shut her into the bathroom and somehow the door got locked. Mayhem ensued. Amazingly, though, the eight-month-old spent the whole time smiling and laughing. I'm sure she figured it was all being done for her entertainment.