One year, two days, and counting …

Did I mention it was the twins’ birthday two days ago? Probably not. (That picture was taken over a month ago, though.)

It has been a year since they were born. A whole year. And since my wife went back to work two weeks ago, I now find myself juggling the whole movie-critic thing with the parenting thing — and it’s been an interesting experience.

I was telling someone the other day that the twins have been getting in the way of my career since day one. A magazine had asked me to write an article about Brokeback Mountain, but they needed it ASAP, so I told them I would watch it again on Friday night and write the review over the weekend. Saturday morning, my wife went into labour, and the whole time I was there in the delivery room, I kept thinking about the movie I had seen the night before and how I needed to get that article done. In the end, it didn’t get done, and I sent an apologetic note to the editor, and he graciously said not to worry about it.

I also missed seeing a preview screening of Curious George that morning, because of the twins. I was going to see the movie with a friend’s daughter, but by the time my friend and her daughter arrived at our apartment, my wife could “sense” that something was on the verge of happening, so I gave the pass to my friend and told her to take her daughter instead. To this day, I have not yet seen Curious George, and I wonder if I ever will; all I know is that, whenever I see that title, my mind goes back to that crazy, hectic morning.

Fast-forward one year, almost. This past Friday morning, my sister came over and babysat the kids for three hours while I walked to a nearby theatre and caught a preview screening. It doesn’t really matter what I saw — all that matters is that I actually got to go out to a daytime press screening for the first time in over three weeks! How bad has my non-attendance at these things become? The moment I stepped in the door, one of my colleagues spotted me and said, “Where have you been?”

At least I get the occasional screener, still. Ah, but even there, I have to be careful nowadays. The other day, I was watching an episode of Star Trek: Voyager, and at one point a piece of Borg technology popped out of a little girl’s cheek — and my then-not-quite-one-year-old daughter began to cry. Coincidence? I would like to think so, but…

Wouldn’t trade ’em for anything in the world, though, natch.