Petra has always been attached to Olof, of course, but not with the same obvious intensity that Tage and Brynja are. As a matter of fact, it’s probably in some part due to having the the two of them on either side of her that she has generally gravitated more to me than to her dad. It’s easy, then, for us sometimes to overlook her need to spend quality time on her own with him.

We’re trying to remedy this some, but it’s not always as simple as it sounds when there are only two parents to five kids, and one of those parents is gone from home for a whole lot of the kids’ waking hours. Last week, Olof had a genius idea and took her to work with him on Friday, the day after a holiday, when there were only a few people in the office and not much in the way of pressing work issues. She was thrilled at the prospect, and didn’t even complain too much about having to get up at 6:30 in order to catch the bus on time.

We weren’t sure she’d last the entire day, despite the new, fancy markers Olof had tucked in his backpack and the endless supply of hot chocolate from the office coffee machine, so I was on call to pick her up, if needed, after lunch. Mid-afternoon I got a message that her energy was flagging a little, but that she was determined to stick it out until five o’clock.

It had been a quiet day here, and I was having a bit of cabin fever, so just before quitting time I loaded up the three kids who were at home and we drove to town to pick up our hard workers and take them to dinner. Petra was cheerful when she came to the car, despite her assertion that “almost everything there made my head hurt,” and she said it had been a good day. Olof concurred, and I have to say, he didn’t seem any the worse for wear.

This evening the two of them are continuing the father-daughter theme by going together to Petra’s first-ever soccer practice. We hadn’t decided for sure last night which of us would be taking her, but when I asked her this morning if she wanted me or dad, she wasted no time in declaring, “Dad!” Looks like Tage and Brynja had better watch out — there’s a rival in their midst.