Dad's Day!

This is Ray’s 1st Father’s Day! Well, we’ve celebrated Father’s Day every year in the past because he’s always been a Dad to Daisy, Mya, Hobbes, and Yoshi. But this year, he’s a Daddy to a MONKEY (aka Grayson)! :)

Ray received cards from all of us – Grayson, me, our canine kiddos, and Yoshi the Great . Daisy, Mya, Hobbes, and Yoshi got their Dad a little something. Grayson and I went in together on what we got him.

But in addition to “things”, I wanted to make Ray something. I guess you could say I wanted to make something “artsy fartsy”, as our friend, Billy, says. But because Grayson doesn’t yet draw or color and I don’t have the time to do it myself, we resorted to another “craft”. One day last week, Grayson and I went to the park for a photo shoot. Even though we went early in the morning, it was still warm out. And when I got there, I didn’t feel good about hanging out with my 4 month old by myself (even though the park is a clean and safe one). So, I took pictures of him in his car seat with the sunshine beaming in. I took about 100 pictures. Most of them just turned out okay, in my opinion. But two of them, turned out AWESOME (if I may say so myself)! They are below.

Aren’t they great shots?! Besides showing off my pictures ;) , I wanted to tell the story behind them. When I first drove into the park, I noticed 2 little kids playing with something. As I pulled into a parking spot, I realized they were 3-4 tiny kittens. I wondered where the kids’ mother was. Sure enough – she wasn’t paying attention to what her kids were doing. She stays at home, has babies just to have them, while you and me give the government money to support her!!! :

And what about the jerks that dropped the kittens off?! I guess the kittens cuteness wasn’t enough to persuade the owners to keep them. Obviously, they discovered that a litter of kittens requires a lot of time, love, and attention. And I can’t help but wonder if those idiots thought the kittens would have a better chance at surviving at a nice park, or did dropping them off at a pretty place (rather than in a parking lot or something) make them feel less guilty?! Having an animal or animals is so rewarding…but if the human becomes negligent and irresponsible, the dog/cat/whatever cannot care for himself/herself. Humans, the “master beings” of this Earth, can be so ignorant and downright selfish.

When I was taking photos of Gray, I heard those little kittens crying. The sound got louder and louder and louder. When I was ready to go, I realized one of them was under my car! Well, not only under my car but were in my wheel bearing! Fortunately, he/she was on the side Grayson was on. So, I rolled down his window some, bent down, got the kitten out, gently tossed it aside, jumped back in the car, and left as fast as I could. In the past, I would’ve probably taken the kittens with me, but I had a bigger fish to fry. His name is Grayson! ;) As I was pulling out of the park, I saw a kitten (most likely from the same litter) had been run over near the highway. Since I couldn’t do anything myself, I decided to make a few phone calls. Unfortunately, the SPCA doesn’t respond to calls like that. I ended up contacting the local animal control. I did not like the thought of these young kittens being brought to the animal control shelter, a place that is just awful – dark, depressing, full of disease, and as much as I hate to say it, often “the last stop” for an animal.

No one answered the phone. I got voicemail. I left a message explaining the location of the kittens. I also said, “I don’t like the thought of these kittens going to your facility, but it is a better place for them than where they are. One has already gotten killed. Will you please call one of the rescue groups you work with and ask them to come get the kittens from you? These kittens are young and don’t seem to be in bad shape. I think they are adoptable. “ I left my cell phone number and asked for a call back. All afternoon, I anxiously awaited a phone call. Nothing.

The next morning, I called back. This time, a guy answered. I could tell it was the same guy whose voice was on the outgoing message of their voicemail. I introduced myself and explained why I was calling. He said, “Yes ma’m! I apologize for not calling you back. I was so busy yesterday morning. I got your message and responded…” I asked him if he found the kitten that got killed. He said he did. He walked all around the park and said he even asked some people out there if they had seen some kittens. Out of the 3 or 4, he found 1 little guy/girl. He thinks someone probably picked up the others. He took that one back to the shelter and tried feeding him/her canned food but she/he wouldn’t eat it. His belief is that it is too young for food. So, he contacted someone he works with from a local rescue organization who came to get him/her right away. He said, “I’m glad it got taken out of here. Thank you very much for calling. Because of you, it’ll find a good home.” I said, “Oh well, sure. All I did was make a phone call. Thank you for going out there and saving that kitten’s life…” He said, “Yes ma’m. Again, I’m sorry I didn’t call you back. But yeah, that little kitten is safe now because of you. You have a good weekend!” Ideally, all of the kittens would’ve been found and rescued. But for whatever reason, only one could be found. I’m just so happy that at least one of them got saved. As I said, it wasn’t me that did the actual rescuing, but it felt so good to have a hand in it. On my way home, I thought about how Grayson and I had our first animal rescue together. :)

There’s a Part II regarding the preparation of Father’s Day. While Part I was a feel good story, Part II is comical. I went to a store to pick up a little something for Ray’s Father’s Day. It was just a little cheap ‘odd and end’ to go along with his main gift. Since it was such a small purchase, I decided it would be better to pay cash for it rather than using my debit card. That’s when I realized I didn’t have any dollar bills on me. But I always keep this change purse with me. I knew it was in there and was full because my purse was pretty heavy.

While waiting to check out, I dug and dug for my stupid coin purse but had no luck. I pulled out my wallet, lip gloss, compact, a little notepad, etc. I even found a few pacifiers in there! I was getting frustrated as I dug in “the black hole”. And I thought I had pulled out and was holding just about everything that was inside my purse. That’s when I ran across one of Grayson’s soft, thin little washcloths (I usually shove one in my purse to wipe away his dribbles) that was crammed in the bottom corner of my purse. When I pulled it out of my purse, I discovered it wasn’t one of Grayson’s soft washcloths…it was a pair of my underwear!!!!!! :) Go ahead – laugh your rear end off because I sure did and still am as I type this! :)

Ah, yes, what would my life be like without little adventures like these? Most likely boring. A laugh sure does a body and mind good – even if you are laughing at yourself. You should try it!

In conclusion, Grayson and I had a lot of fun getting ready for Ray’s 1st Father’s Day! Our goal was to make his day special…and I think we were successful. :)