Our son was just four months old when you unexpectedly lost your job last August. As it was summer， we decided to abandon the bedtime routine， took the little one for a long walk to get him off to sleep in his 2）pram， and went to the beer garden where we sat with our heads in our hands wondering how it had happened.

We were lucky that you got a good 3）pay off. You decided to take a couple of months off and spend your days with us， making the most of that. At first you found it strange adapting to the routine at home， but you soon realised how hard it was taking care of a baby all day and trying to keep the house in order.

I know that when you went back to work after 4）paternity leave， we were both quite shocked that some days I found it impossible to take care of the baby， do the washing up and keep the laundry bin less than a third full. I had an image in my mind of you getting home after work to a fed and freshly washed baby， 5）spotless kitchen， dinner on the go and a freshly pressed shirt for the morning.

In reality， you would come home to plates piled up in the kitchen and me trying to chop an onion while soothing an unbathed baby with the 6）Foo Fighters. With two of us suddenly at home it was a lot easier to 7）keep on top of everything， but when I took a day off to get my hair cut or see friends and you stayed at home by yourself with our son， you said how mad it was that it seemed impossible to achieve anything while taking care of a creature who spent most of the day asleep.

We adapted to our new life. It was fun to go shopping or to the park， all three of us living one long weekend. Your relationship with your son grew stronger every day. When our babies were very young， one of the biggest complaints among my friends in 8）antenatal class was that sometimes we would struggle all day to get a smile or a laugh out of our children， that everything we did seemed to displease them in some way—but when our partners walked through the door from work they were rewarded with huge smiles. “Its because they dont feel the need to prove they love you，as youre with them all day every day，”someone said to me. It was hard not to feel a 9）twinge of jealousy. More than a year later， you are still here all week， and that “Whos this？ I must impress him！”relationship never stopped between you and your son.

I dont know if its because he was a certain age when you started spending so much time with him or if you have a 10）sinister magic trick up your sleeve， but whenever he sees you he breaks into the biggest smile Ive seen. He adores you； he cannot get enough of you. Since I went back to work part-time in March you take him alone for the days Im away. Whenever he and I go out for the day by ourselves， the look on his face as we leave says， “Cant Dad come too？” When we get back， his face lights up immediately like it used to when you came in from work. While things have not been perfect， Im so glad we have been able to spend over a year bringing him up together as a team.

Its likely that you will be working again before Christmas. This will be a blessing， but Im already missing your 11）day-to-day 12）company and the look on our sons face as you open the front door to take him into your arms.

去年八月你意外丟掉工作時(shí)，我們的兒子才剛剛四個(gè)月大。當(dāng)時(shí)時(shí)值正夏，我們決定放棄原有的作息時(shí)間，帶上小家伙去散步走上好一段距離，讓他在嬰兒車中睡著。然后我們走到啤酒花園，在那里，我們兩手托腮苦苦反思這一切的緣由。

我們很幸運(yùn)，你得到了一筆還不賴的資遣費(fèi)。你決定休假幾個(gè)月，并且充分利用這些時(shí)間和我們呆在一起。起初你覺(jué)得難以適應(yīng)家中的常規(guī)雜務(wù)，但很快你就意識(shí)到全天候照顧小寶貝和盡量維持家中井井有條是多么困難的事兒。

我知道陪產(chǎn)假結(jié)束、你回去工作之后，我倆都很訝異有段日子我難以兼顧照看小寶貝、清洗餐具、讓臟衣服不至堆過(guò)籃子的三分之一。在我腦海里曾有過(guò)這樣一幅畫面，你下班后回到這樣的家：家里有一個(gè)喂飽的、洗得白白凈凈的小寶貝，一塵不染的廚房，晚餐準(zhǔn)備就緒，隔天早上要穿的襯衫剛剛熨好。

事實(shí)上，你回家會(huì)發(fā)現(xiàn)，廚房里堆滿盤子，而我則在噴火戰(zhàn)機(jī)樂(lè)隊(duì)的搖滾樂(lè)聲中哄著還未洗澡的小寶貝，還要兼顧切洋蔥?，F(xiàn)在，突然我倆都呆家里了，一切事情都變得沒(méi)那么棘手了。但有時(shí)候我會(huì)空出一天去剪發(fā)或者見(jiàn)見(jiàn)朋友，而你則和兒子呆在家里。你會(huì)說(shuō)照看一個(gè)大半天都在睡覺(jué)的生物，自己竟然做不了任何事，讓人抓狂不已。

我們適應(yīng)了新生活。去購(gòu)物或者逛公園都趣味多多，我們?nèi)齻€(gè)就像在度過(guò)一個(gè)長(zhǎng)周末。你與兒子間的關(guān)系日漸密切。當(dāng)我們的小寶貝還非常小的時(shí)候，我產(chǎn)前班的朋友們中最大的抱怨之一是：有時(shí)我們整天努力想逗取孩子們的一個(gè)微笑或大笑卻不果，好像我們做的每件事都在一定程度上惹他們不高興——而丈夫下班進(jìn)門時(shí)，小孩卻會(huì)獎(jiǎng)勵(lì)他們一個(gè)大大的微笑?！斑@是因?yàn)樾『⒂X(jué)得沒(méi)有必要去證明自己愛(ài)你，你們天天都和他們呆在一起，”有人這么跟我說(shuō)道。這讓人很難壓抑內(nèi)心的嫉妒。一年多以后，你仍整周呆在家里，那種“這是誰(shuí)？我必須討好他！”的關(guān)系在你和兒子之間從未停止。

我不知道是否因?yàn)樵谀汩_始長(zhǎng)時(shí)間陪伴小寶貝時(shí)，他已經(jīng)到了某個(gè)特定的年齡段，還是說(shuō)你暗中使了什么魔法手段，總之，每每他看到你就綻放出我曾見(jiàn)過(guò)的最燦爛的笑臉。他崇拜你，像是永遠(yuǎn)都和你玩不夠似的。自三月我做起兼職工作開始，我出門的那些日子里你一個(gè)人帶著他。每當(dāng)就我?guī)е『⒊鲩T的時(shí)候，小家伙臉上的神情就像在說(shuō)“爸爸不能一起去嗎？”帶著他回到家時(shí)，他的神情立馬就亮了，和你過(guò)去下班進(jìn)門的時(shí)候一樣。雖然世事并無(wú)完美，但我還是很開心我們能作為一個(gè)團(tuán)隊(duì)花費(fèi)一年多的時(shí)間一起養(yǎng)育他。

圣誕節(jié)前你很有可能將重新投入工作。這是我們的福氣，但我已經(jīng)開始想念你每日的陪伴，以及當(dāng)你推開前門擁著兒子入懷時(shí)，我們兒子臉上的模樣了。