Friday, January 13, 2006
Through The Eyes Of A Parakeet
I've been wanting to remodel my office for some time now. It's the place where I spend about 1/3 of my life, and lately it has taken a team of wild horses to pull me in there every morning. Well, that and an extra jumbo cup of java. If I hate the joint like a bad case of screaming-run-for-your-life-Montezuma's revenge, then it must be time to make a change. So TFMCD and I went shopping. I thought it would be cool to have one wall lined nearly completely with bookcases, which in turn would be loaded with all of my books and paraphernalia which at the time was overflowing from every nook and cranny in there. We found some cool oak bookcases at Sam's Club. They also carry the matching desk, so I bout three book cases and a desk.
It was about two-plus day's worth of backbreaking labor to unpack and assemble all this shit, but it's up and looks great, better than even I expected. The shelves cover nearly one full wall. I started putting all my books on the shelves, and in walks Ladybug, munching a cookie. She loves it in my office, in part because of all the Parrot-phenalia all over the place. She takes a long look around, studies the scene closely, and says:
It looks like a library in here, Papa.
Wasn't it just yesterday she couldn't even pronounce "library," much less know what one looks like?
"Well, Ladybug. That's kind of what I was going for. Does it remind you of school?"
Yeah. Except for the talking parrot over the door, the one in the corner, and that shark fin on the filing cabinet.
Kids are astounding. It seems like with my own little girl, she was cuddled in my lap while we read books together one day, and the next I was walking her down the aisle. Now she's just a few weeks out from having her own little girl, who shall be known as Brooklyn. And in the blink of an eye, I know Brook will be standing in my office one day, saying something that astounds me.
And those talking parrots and that shark fin will still be there, because this old Crime Dog won't change nearly as fast as Ladybug and Brooklyn.
Today, Ladybug and I were out in the front yard when she wandered over by the neighbor's house. She was there for a minute, intently studying their gate. She walked back over to me, practically on tiptoes, and says with her voice lowered as though the neighbors might be listening:
Papa, I just looked in the neighbor's yard. They have a coyote.
"Really Bug? How do you know it's a coyote?"
Cause I saw it. It has bright eyes and its ears were all pointy and sticking up.
I walked back over there with her and showed her that it was really just a husky, not a coyote. That seemed to satisfy her, but we had to do a couple of coyote howls just to make sure.
My good phriends formerly know as The Golf God and Goddess, now known as the Jello Shot Prince and Princess, just had a newborn hit the world a few days ago. I can't wait to meet him. If he's anything like his old man, he's already got his parakeet gear and can do "fins up." So JSP's, and all of you out there who have younger kids or will have one day, take it from The Crime Dog: Enjoy them and relish every single moment. Don't sweat the small stuff, because only for the blink of an eye will they be that age where they walk into the room and astonish you with how much they have learned, or tell you the neighbor's mutt just might be a coyote with "its ears all sticking up." Enjoy their world with them before it slowly melts into ours. Howl like a coyote with them while they still think its cool.
And always keep a few talking parrots and shark fins around. They'll never outgrow those.
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It was about two-plus day's worth of backbreaking labor to unpack and assemble all this shit, but it's up and looks great, better than even I expected. The shelves cover nearly one full wall. I started putting all my books on the shelves, and in walks Ladybug, munching a cookie. She loves it in my office, in part because of all the Parrot-phenalia all over the place. She takes a long look around, studies the scene closely, and says:
It looks like a library in here, Papa.
Wasn't it just yesterday she couldn't even pronounce "library," much less know what one looks like?
"Well, Ladybug. That's kind of what I was going for. Does it remind you of school?"
Yeah. Except for the talking parrot over the door, the one in the corner, and that shark fin on the filing cabinet.
Kids are astounding. It seems like with my own little girl, she was cuddled in my lap while we read books together one day, and the next I was walking her down the aisle. Now she's just a few weeks out from having her own little girl, who shall be known as Brooklyn. And in the blink of an eye, I know Brook will be standing in my office one day, saying something that astounds me.
And those talking parrots and that shark fin will still be there, because this old Crime Dog won't change nearly as fast as Ladybug and Brooklyn.
Today, Ladybug and I were out in the front yard when she wandered over by the neighbor's house. She was there for a minute, intently studying their gate. She walked back over to me, practically on tiptoes, and says with her voice lowered as though the neighbors might be listening:
Papa, I just looked in the neighbor's yard. They have a coyote.
"Really Bug? How do you know it's a coyote?"
Cause I saw it. It has bright eyes and its ears were all pointy and sticking up.
I walked back over there with her and showed her that it was really just a husky, not a coyote. That seemed to satisfy her, but we had to do a couple of coyote howls just to make sure.
My good phriends formerly know as The Golf God and Goddess, now known as the Jello Shot Prince and Princess, just had a newborn hit the world a few days ago. I can't wait to meet him. If he's anything like his old man, he's already got his parakeet gear and can do "fins up." So JSP's, and all of you out there who have younger kids or will have one day, take it from The Crime Dog: Enjoy them and relish every single moment. Don't sweat the small stuff, because only for the blink of an eye will they be that age where they walk into the room and astonish you with how much they have learned, or tell you the neighbor's mutt just might be a coyote with "its ears all sticking up." Enjoy their world with them before it slowly melts into ours. Howl like a coyote with them while they still think its cool.
And always keep a few talking parrots and shark fins around. They'll never outgrow those.
