Today, on purpose

I took the day off today.

Not for anything big—just to spend it with my kids and do something fun.

Of course, like most well-intentioned plans, it didn’t go exactly how I pictured it.

The plan

At first, I wanted to take them to a Yankees game.

But it’s 49 degrees in the Bronx, and the idea of bringing three kids under four into the cold for hours quickly lost its appeal.

So I did what I always do—I started thinking through options.

What would be fun.
What wouldn’t cost too much.
What wouldn’t immediately lead to a meltdown.

Eventually, we landed on something simple: somewhere interactive, somewhere they can run around, something we can do together. We’re bringing my parents too, which makes it feel a little more manageable.

But then plans changed again, and a trip to Target followed by an afternoon at the brewery won.

The reality

As I’m writing this, one child is trying to lock the other in her bedroom.

She’s crying.
He’s insisting the door is open.
The baby is asleep—but not for much longer.

Before we can even leave, I need to:

clean out the car (which is a disaster)
probably run it through a car wash
pack everything that might prevent a tantrum
check what we’re actually allowed to bring

Snacks? Water bottles? Will they even eat what I bring?

A day out is never just a day out.

It’s logistics. It’s planning six steps ahead. It’s trying to create something that feels easy, even when it isn’t.

The details that don’t matter (but somehow do)

My daughter is currently wearing a Spider-Man romper.

She refuses to take it off.

So now she’s wearing pants over it, which don’t quite fit right, but we’re going with it.

Because at some point, you stop trying to make everything perfect and just decide to go.

What I’m realizing

There will probably be tears today.

But there will also be a lot of laughs.

And at the end of it, we’ll have done something together, which is the whole point.

Maybe we’ll watch the game.

Or maybe we won’t.

Maybe we’ll just sit in the sun, wrapped up in blankets and hats, creating the newest, coolest marble run because to my four-year-old, that’s the goal of the day.

Either way, it counts.