Fathers and sons

The boy and I were at the playground last Friday. It was packed with parents and kids running off the energy from being stuck indoors at Thanksgiving. One dad was there with his 8 year old son and his 4 year old daughter (ages are a complete guess on my part). This guy was wearing the leather bomber jacket that seems to be made in a Xerox machine in some random city in China, and he was quizzing one of his son's friends.

-So Timmy, did you play football this year?

-Yeah.

-What team? The Titans?

-I didn't play for a team. I played in the park with some friends.

-Junior played for the Eagles. They beat the Titans twice.

When at the playground with Jasperoo, you only get snippets of conversation, as he's always heading for the next apparatus. A few minutes later, Jasper is playing the walk around and head towards field where kids are playing sports game. Leather jacket man is now quarterbacking a football game with a bunch of little kids, his son and daughter included. The Fonz drops back and aims a pass at his daughter that sails over her head and into the parking area. Her brother shouts, "You stink!"

I'm appalled. The whole time, I'm making up Leatherman's story. He probably played some high school ball and wants Junior to play football too. He yells "You stink!" at the tv when Tom Brady overthrows somebody.

I don't feel any need to turn Jasper into my clone. He's already becoming his own person. (He's much better than I am about putting things back where he got them.)

Thanksgiving with the J-Dawg

Happy belated Thanksgiving, everyone. Jasper hosted Thanksgiving for the first time yesterday. Last year, we were in Minnesota with Uncle Willy and Auntie Kacia. This year, it was a party in Roxybury. Photo credit to Roz, and modeling credit to Jasper and Shaun.

Jasper had a great time hanging out, playing with everyone and smearing sweet potatoes on Daddy. He's such a personable kid. I think it's great that he gets along with everyone he meets. He was showing off a bit for the crowd. Everyone will tell you, the little man is quite a dancer.

Despite the horrible rainy weather, we grilled the turkey outside under a tarp that I strung out over the yard. It came out really well. I brined the turkey the night before and cooked it over indirect heat for 3 hours. I realized that this is the first time I've ever cooked a whole turkey. I wasn't nervous because it was on the grill. All that summertime bbq practice comes in handy.

I wish we'd taken a picture of the pie-o-rama before we made like Rumsfeld in Iraq and just made a huge chaotic mess. We had: pumpkin pie, apple pie, apple crisp, blueberry pie and of course, Dane's Grandma's unnamed chocolate pie/dessert thing. (Attempts to name the dessert, like the dessert itself are fruitless.)

Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday. Unlike Christmas, it's humble and simple. It's about food, community and gratitude. What's better than that?

You're Not Cool if You Don't

Jasper thinks this is lame and signed the petition. You should too.

(image is from breastfeeding.dot.com)

Woof!

Currently, this puppy's name is Andrex. As of this writing, he is in Bangkok Thailand, where he was born as a street dog. The good people at Soi Dog Rescue took him in. On November 28, he'll be flying to Boston via Amsterdam. He'll be coming home for the first time, to join our family.

We've been talking about getting a dog for what seems like an eternity. We knew that Roxy wouldn't take kindly to a dog. The old man was a only pet. He didn't just want to be an alpha pet. He wanted to be the alpha to omega pet. Jen will tell you stories about lizards eaten and regurgitated, and Roxy vs. the ferrets (they used to team up on Mr. Cat).

Jasper is fascinated by dogs. He will go over and pet them when he sees them in the park. He'll sign the word "doggie" enthusiastically, as if to ask permission to play. For some reason, I've always been enamored of the "boy and his dog" stories. There are two surefire ways to make me weepy. 1) Mention Where the Red Fern Grows. 2)Quote the father at the end of the Joy Luck Club. Gets me everytime. "Your mommy... She hides things." Dammit!

According to the staff at Soi Dog, Andrex is the star of his obedience classes and he is a mellow guy that doesn't spook easily. If confronted by something strange, he goes over to check it out and calms down right away. Sounds like a perfect fit for us. When he was born in August (possibly on Jen's birthday), he had blue eyes. They've now turned green, just like Jen's eyes. Sometimes, things feel like fate.

We haven't decided if he'll keep his name, or get a new one entirely. Sometimes, it feels like Jen and I have spent the last 2.5 years coming up with names for babies, fish, cats and dogs. It's fun, but each time, we have to wait and meet our new honored guest before finalizing the name. We will see.

Cats in the Cradle

After Roxy died, I realized that I've never not shared my life with an animal. The house felt incredibly empty, we'd lost our alarm clock, but most importantly, it broke both my heart and William's to see the J-Dawg constantly looking around for his kitty.

Just for kicks we went to the Animal Rescue League to visit the cats. When we got there, Jasper was so excited he was shaking. He ran from cage to cage, trying to pet all of the kitties. There were several cats that seemed to be incredibly sweet, coming right up to the bars to say hello. One cat, however, really stood out. She looked like a beautiful miniature Maine Coon and began to purr as soon as she saw us. Jasper was thrilled and so when the shelter staff asked if we wanted to visit with her, we had to say yes.

She was an absolute angel, tolerating the boy's somewhat rough enthusiasm with grace and charm and when I looked into her yellow eyes, the deal was done. Given how Jasper clearly was in love and how she took to us immediately, how could we not take her home?

We filled out an application, and then met with an adoption coordinator to have our interview. They checked (online - how cool is that?) to see if we really were homeowners, and asked about our vet and whatnot. When we asked what her backstory was, the coordinator told us that she'd been found the week before in Hyde Park by some good samaritans, and was brought in with another cat - they suspected a sibling.

Scrrraaaaatch!

Both William and I looked at each other, because neither of us could imagine separating a bonded pair, so we asked to meet the other cat. The reason they weren't in a cage together is because they hadn't been fixed yet. The coordinator walked us over to his cage, and immediately we were greeted by a large-ish orange tabby. It sort of took me aback that he resembeled Roxy (though Roxy was buff and this guy was orange - they also have completely different face structures), but I also knew that wasn't his fault. We went into a visiting room with him, and he was also incredibly friendly and outgoing. He also accepted Jasper's enthusiastic ministrations with panache...so the second shoe dropped and we decided that we weren't going to leave without him either.

So, in less than two hours, we became cat owners again. The kitties have been spayed and neutered respectively, are getting over conjunctivitis and an upper respiratory infection, and have settled in nicely. We changed their names from the ones the shelter had given them (Nashville and Jackson) and we are a happy family again.

Without further adieu, I give you........

Lily



and

Jonty (the gigalo)