I looked across the room to see my handsome husband enjoying a conversation with the guests at our Thanksgiving gathering. Our holiday gatherings are large; there are twenty-three nieces and nephews, not counting the parents. Add a few extra guest families and we have a sizable and smashing celebration. Like most good wives I can hear my husband’s conversations from clear across the room, while having my own. My husband looked so cute holding our baby, laughing and talking with our company. I heard them ask, “So who is the adorable little one that you are holding?” I smiled at my husband, then saw his laugh turn into a blank stare. All the blood drained from his face and he looked back helplessly at me. He had forgotten our ninth child’s name! I watched him hold our one-year-old away from himself as if to get a better look at him…and pause.
I guess my sister felt sorry for him because she stepped in, “Caden! His name is Caden.” Everyone burst into laughter and he hugged his son and whispered, “Sorry.”
I’m not sure why or how my husband forgets the names of his offspring. One day our family was gathered in the waiting room in his new dental office along with a room full of home school moms and their wiggly kids. We were doing a tour educating the students on the fundamentals of running a dental practice and the basics of oral hygiene. My husband decided to introduce our family one member at a time before starting the tour. My kids and I held our breath because we know him. The children were standing out of order and we even had some random kids mixed in the bunch.
“I would like to introduce my beautiful family. This is Madeleine, she is twelve.”
“Honey, she is fourteen.”
“That’s what I meant.”
“And next we have Alexis, she is uh,”
“Eleven, Dad!”
“Then here we have my oldest son, Ethan, holding our one-year-old,” he paused one of those eternal pauses. “Samuel, Samuel is our baby!”
I guess I should give him a break. Every other year we have a different one-year-old.
Why didn’t the kids stand in order from oldest to youngest separated from the group? They know their father! Holding my breath and trying to blend in with the other home school moms, I thanked the Lord we did not have any twins to confuse him. Miraculously when he got to me, he remembered my name!
I think his confusion is possibly my fault. He watches me call the kids by the wrong name on a regular basis and I am the one with them 24/7. I think that would confuse anyone! He loves us. We have no doubt. I just wish he would not spontaneously introduce us without note cards.
