Ralph

Old Yeller was one of only a handful of movies I saw with my parents. That was sixty-some years ago, but ever since then, there has been a special place in my heart for golden retrievers. So when I learned that Bootsie had developed an interest in dogs, it seemed only natural that I should get her a golden retriever for her tenth birthday last Oct. 4.

"Ralph," as she named him, is absolutely the most realistic stuffed dog I have ever seen. So much so that it gave both her and me a start when we opened the shipping box to see him lying there so quiet and still.

When Christmas came along several months later, I was able to add to Bootsie's "doggie" collection with a Hobby Lobby poodle painting for her newly remodeled room and a shiny beagle pendant to wear around her neck. Although she shows an interest in animals in general, she has a special affinity for dogs right now. 

It is not hard to take a fantasy peek into the future and see Bootsie as a veterinarian. I can imagine her dressed in her crisp white jacket and standing beside an exam table where some future dog looks to her for an inoculation, a check-up, or maybe some heartworm medication. She speaks soothingly as she rubs his scruffy ears. The dog trusts her at once because she speaks his language.

As with so many things last year, our travels to celebrate Bootsie's birthday were pushed to a couple weeks after the fact due to delays imposed by the coronavirus. But when we finally made it to the party, Ralph came along with us to make the occasion extra special.

Another event I missed was the opportunity to see Bootsie as a young Cratchit daughter in her school's presentation of Dickens' A Christmas Carol. So maybe if vet school doesn't work out, she can pursue Plan B as an actress. 

Whatever the case, she is bright and talented enough to go after whatever she wants in this world. Though I can't be certain at this point what that will be, I do know that this world will be a better place because she is in it.

Pa-pa's Boy

This boy.

In a world that has now circled the sun in the oppressive, uncertain cosmos of pandemic, this little guy has wrapped us in the soothing light of laughter and love. It had been six years since our flurry of six grandkids arrived in a span of six years. Everyone was finally in school. I had sold my baby bed and high chair.

Although the pandemic has kept our families apart more than we would've liked, it has not kept us from bonding with this newest grandson during his baby months. But the neatest thing has been to watch him interact with Pa-pa, even as early as that first Christmas, when he was only three months old. From the very beginning, our little Packee has been (mostly) Pa-pa's boy.

Anytime Packee gets a look at Pa-pa, or hears his voice, he lurches out from whomever is holding him at the moment, reaching his little arms out for Pa-pa to take him. He demands a place on Pa-pa's lap to drive the pontoon or the golf cart. He gets a bead on Pa-pa and runs toward him as fast as his little legs will carry him. And one of his earliest words? "Pa-pa," of course.

As you might imagine, Pa-pa dearly loves everything about this. In time, he bonded with all the other kids as well, but it was usually when they were a bit older. These guys, on the other hand, have been bosom buddies since Packee was born.

Last Sept. 30, when Packee turned one year old, his family was quarantined, so we got to see him with the official chocolate cake only on FaceTime. 

But a couple weeks later we were able to again visit his family and take him a special present, made just for a one-year-old ready to go mobile.

At this writing Packee is just over sixteen months old. He is adding to his vocabulary every day, and is starting to like books, something I have been waiting patiently for. When I saw him last week, he was particularly fond of a farm animal book, complete with fur to rub and buttons to push for sound. His little high-pitched "doodle-doo" when we turn to the rooster page is the cutest thing I have ever heard. 

The long baby hair of the photos above is now trimmed into an official little-boy haircut. He is almost old enough to come and stay with me and Pa-pa for a few days. I am really looking forward to that. 

Of course, I may have to build up my muscles so that I can wrestle him away from Pa-pa once in a while. He may be Pa-pa's boy now, but I intend to see if I can work my way up to equal rank--or at least come in a close second. That would be fine with me.