Today was one of the first days that I had to be into the office early, which to most of you would translate to “a normal hour.”

Meaning I was up, showered, dressed and breakfast-ed long before Daphne had so much as stirred in her crib.

She did wake up before I left though, just long enough for a quick smile and to gently press her palm against my nose.

It occurs to me that this is what a lot of fathers get, every day.

And it absolutely sucked.

No smiling up at me as I lifted her from her crib…

No cuddles while watching Sesame Street…

Just a quick “hi,” while pouring coffee into a Thermos, and continuing at a breakneck pace out the door to trade away the precious hours of my life.

What’s more, I’ve a dinner meeting after work tonight, so I won’t see her before bed either.  Which means I won’t get to lift her up to scratch the paintings on her nursery walls, or slap Elton the Penguin…

This is Elton.

or gently lay her in her mother’s arms while telling her “good night, little girl,” like I do every single night.

I don’t know if I could do this every day.

Actually that’s not true.  I’m pretty sure I couldn’t do this every day.

Because no amount of pay feels like it’s worth what I’m selling.

j.s.
[Edit:  Understand that I’m not talking about normal workday hours.  Specifically, I mean dads who work all day and never get to see their kids, except on the weekends.  That doesn’t seem worth it, no matter the pay.]