Littlest kiddo went down for her first nap, so I took Miss 3 out to play in the front yard/driveway while I dug in the garden bed (it’s still too cold to plant here, but I’m just prepping the dirt because it’s mostly clay and I want stuff to actually grow there instead of moss and slugs this year). Hubby has been working from home for the last year, which low-key sucks for everyone involved.

As I’m rinsing off a tool at the hose, kiddo comes over to me and offers her (my) trowel to be rinsed as well. Problem is, she shoves it in my face right as I’m bending down, and the point makes contact with my left eye. I scream out in pain/reaction, and hustle her inside. As I’m holding one hand over my eye, I call out to Hubby to help me wrangle our muddy toddler while I go flush dirt out of my eye and assess the damage. I rip my coat off, kick my shoes off as fast as I can, and run off to our bathroom to get the saline solution and a cold washcloth. I’m obviously in a lot of pain and worried about my eye.

H: “Well, I have a meeting in like a minute. I don’t have time for this right now”

M: “I promise I’ll be as fast as I can - I’m seriously worried and in pain. She accidentally hit me in the eye with a metal trowel. It won’t be more than a minute, I just need to go grab a cold washcloth.”

I run off, then I hear daughter start to scream and cry, and he stomps over to her room and puts her in time out just as I’m coming out of the bathroom. 🤨

M: “why is she in time out?” H: “She won’t listen to me, and I need to present at this meeting.” M: “Well she was just asking if she could go out into the living room to play. You could have just put her there and closed the gate, she would have been absolutely fine for the minute it would have taken me” H: “Whatever, I have to go.”

I go into Miss 3’s room and sit down to talk to her. We talk about how I know she didn’t mean to hit me in the eye, and I’m sorry that we had to come inside. And I’m sorry Daddy got frustrated, but we need to use our listening ears. Then he comes into the room and apologizes to her, lets her out, and closes me in her room. I honestly think he forgot I was in there? Anyway, I know how to work the doorknob cover so I come out and take her to the living room, give her a Biscoff, all is well.

I get that your job is important, and keeps a roof over all our heads and food on our table. But I could have been seriously injured, and I would have appreciated some sympathy in addition to not punishing our daughter for doing nothing wrong. If you had just waited for 30 seconds I could have come and got her and we both would have been out of your hair, you could have locked the office door, and gone on your merry way. But you chose to react the way you did, meaning you had to deal with a screaming, sad, confused toddler and for the rest of the day you’ll get a pissed off wife until we can have a serious conversation about this. I’d be willing to bet money that as soon as his meeting is done he’ll be out here to apologize, all that remains to be seen is whether it’s a genuine apology or an “I’m sorry if you took it the wrong way” apology.