Catching up
OK, Daddy's been very bad about posting and got called on it. So, for the sake of posterity, here are a few things that I wish I had written when they happened. This isn't comprehensive, but waiting for comprehensive means nothing gets written.
Pets
Sparky the mouse passed away while traveling in Tennessee. At Ben's insistence, she was placed in a plastic container and frozen for the trip home. She is now buried next to Fire. Days later two rays - Clementine and Flaire - entered the Wilkinson household.
Just over six weeks ago, Clementine developed started looking poorly. She lost weight, stopped running around and was panting a lot. By the time we got her to the one vet in the area that works with anything other than cats and dogs, the vet diagnosed pneumonia. That diagnosis took an x-ray. Yes, Mommy paid for an x-ray of a rat. It didn't look good. Mommy let Ben make the decision about Flaire and the vet told him all of the options. Ben made the grown-up decision to let the vet put Clementine to sleep. He told Daddy about it that night and asked some very tough questions about seeing Clementine after he (Ben) died. Ben loved both of his rats, but Clementine was the one that liked to snuggle and ride around on his shoulders. Clementine is buried in a corner of the yard with a nice, flat rock to mark her grave.
Today, after a six week wait to ensure that the pneumonia hadn't been passed along, young Cream Puff the rat entered the Wilkinson household. She and Flaire are right now snuggled up next to each other asleep in the cage. Ben is a very happy boy.
Politics
Barack Obama was elected president last year. Ben and Anna were very interested in the election and talked about it a lot in their classes. Anna voted for John McCain because he was a hero in the war. Ben voted for Barack Obama because he likes to help people. What made Mommy and Daddy especially proud of Ben and Anna is that neither one of them thought that there was anything at all unusual about an African-American running for - or winning - the presidency.
Ben is convinced that he can visit Washington, DC and meet President Obama. He was quite disappointed when our vacation moved from DC to New York because of a conflict with the Cherry Blossom Festival. He reminds Mommy and Daddy often that we're going to Washington, DC next time. He has an appointment with the President.
A few weeks after the election, when there had been a lot of discussion about race that even Ben and Anna couldn't ignore, Ben asked Daddy, "Daddy, are we white?" He seemed genuinely disappointed in the answer.
The treehouse
Daddy finally built the treehouse with lots of help from Ben and Anna. Anna particularly liked to help hammer in the nails. She may have taken a little longer to hammer them in, but Daddy didn't mind. He let her hammer in as many as she wanted. Anna also helped paint a lot of the treehouse after it was built.
The treehouse still needs a permanent roof (it has a tarp roof now), but it's mostly done. Ben and Anna have put in orders for doors, windows, beds, electricity, and an elevator to an underground basement. Daddy will get right on those.
Pets
Sparky the mouse passed away while traveling in Tennessee. At Ben's insistence, she was placed in a plastic container and frozen for the trip home. She is now buried next to Fire. Days later two rays - Clementine and Flaire - entered the Wilkinson household.
Just over six weeks ago, Clementine developed started looking poorly. She lost weight, stopped running around and was panting a lot. By the time we got her to the one vet in the area that works with anything other than cats and dogs, the vet diagnosed pneumonia. That diagnosis took an x-ray. Yes, Mommy paid for an x-ray of a rat. It didn't look good. Mommy let Ben make the decision about Flaire and the vet told him all of the options. Ben made the grown-up decision to let the vet put Clementine to sleep. He told Daddy about it that night and asked some very tough questions about seeing Clementine after he (Ben) died. Ben loved both of his rats, but Clementine was the one that liked to snuggle and ride around on his shoulders. Clementine is buried in a corner of the yard with a nice, flat rock to mark her grave.
Today, after a six week wait to ensure that the pneumonia hadn't been passed along, young Cream Puff the rat entered the Wilkinson household. She and Flaire are right now snuggled up next to each other asleep in the cage. Ben is a very happy boy.
Politics
Barack Obama was elected president last year. Ben and Anna were very interested in the election and talked about it a lot in their classes. Anna voted for John McCain because he was a hero in the war. Ben voted for Barack Obama because he likes to help people. What made Mommy and Daddy especially proud of Ben and Anna is that neither one of them thought that there was anything at all unusual about an African-American running for - or winning - the presidency.
Ben is convinced that he can visit Washington, DC and meet President Obama. He was quite disappointed when our vacation moved from DC to New York because of a conflict with the Cherry Blossom Festival. He reminds Mommy and Daddy often that we're going to Washington, DC next time. He has an appointment with the President.
A few weeks after the election, when there had been a lot of discussion about race that even Ben and Anna couldn't ignore, Ben asked Daddy, "Daddy, are we white?" He seemed genuinely disappointed in the answer.
The treehouse
Daddy finally built the treehouse with lots of help from Ben and Anna. Anna particularly liked to help hammer in the nails. She may have taken a little longer to hammer them in, but Daddy didn't mind. He let her hammer in as many as she wanted. Anna also helped paint a lot of the treehouse after it was built.
The treehouse still needs a permanent roof (it has a tarp roof now), but it's mostly done. Ben and Anna have put in orders for doors, windows, beds, electricity, and an elevator to an underground basement. Daddy will get right on those.
# posted by Scott @ 9/07/2009 07:38:00 PM 
