Tactical childcare faux pas.

Since the New Year I have made a couple of trips out.
First up a couple of days in the Peak. Kirsty had an interview for a teacher training course looming so I volunteered to take the youth away for a couple of days to give her some preparation time. Over the two days I managed to do Zippy's Traverse and breeze the part of Jerry's Traverse that was shutting me down last time, only to get shut down by a part I was breezing last time. Huh? Oh well. Then in the evening watched On-Sight which was good and entertaining and all that, but didn't quite live up to the hype in my mind. Filming onsight climbing must be about the most frustrating thing in the world (up there with filming Badgers feeding and Pandas mating I imagine) so the shortfallings of the film were not that surprising but still...Sunday had a couple of plays at the Secret Garden. G managed to crush Beachball in awful conditions, he's my hero.
But the moral of the tale is that what I did was perhaps not politically the best move. I had Dylan for two days solid but I was climbing so I was "having fun" and as such this childcare was not officially recognised by the rota executives. That is to say I haven't earnt myself a weekend (or even a day) of family free climbing through this venture. Which would be fine were it not for the fact that because I had Dylan I only had about ten attempts at climbing. In two days that is not an impressive work rate. OK it was nice to tick Zippy's but in terms of moving me closer to my objective those two days wil have done not a jot because the work rate was too low (volume and intensity) to be improving my climbing.
It would seem being a dad takes significantly more tactical savvy than I currently have, perhaps a new training regime is required?
The other day out was a family trip to Almscliff to meet up with Rick and family and The Stallion. We got there and it was baltic, the mums and kids wanted to leave immediately. Apart from Dylan who was having the time of his life climbing to the top of the Morrells Wall block over and over again. I was spotting him so I soon got warmed up. Anyway wives and children dragged Dylan off to the cafe in the farm shop up the road (good knowledge if anybody else gets stuck with a cold family at Almscliff). Dylan displayed his dissapointment in the weakness of his compadres by screaming all the way to the car, good lad :o). Anyway family duly dispatched Rick and I had a brief warm-up then onto the Keel block. I was working Keelhaul, which went quite well. I had a left shoulder/elbow problem so wasn't firing on all cylinders but I've got the crux (for me) move pretty sorted so hopefully this should get done. Rick, Stallion and Drew got stuck into The Keel after The Guru and myself had demonstrated two completely different approaches just to add to the confusion. Rick did it, effort. I think that's his hardest problem to date which is ace (as so many things seem to be this season). I fear Stallion was denied, as was Drew?...
Then the wives and offsprings returned and rang from the car, they were refusing to even come up to the crag to meet us. Very poor show. However I could hear Dylan in the background on the phone shouting he wanted to go climbing. I tell you this boy is keen as mustard, watch out world...