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Finn Is Here!
And Here is Yaffa
Below is Mr.
Finn today, cutie-pie, isn't he?
As the song says...he came into
the world in the usual way. To hear his Grandmother
talk, he was one of the few that have ever arrived this way.
He poked his head out into a world that has had babies
arriving this way for quite a few years. Up till then,
only his aunts, parents, and uncles have made that trip down
the canal to the light of a delivery room. His Grandma
was relieved. This powerhouse of a woman that she
raised as her oldest daughter was not quite equipped to give
birth. She had no experience at it. It was her
first. She has a bit of a reputation regarding
descending stairs in a Reston townhouse, and this radical
idea of CHILDBIRTH was just a little too much for Meg.
But in the end, this completed
the cycle. All three kids would have fulfilled their
biological imperative...make Marsha a Grandma.
So Finn slowly arrived and
became a member of the family. Funny thing how humans
go. All of us eventually wear out. Lots of
Finn's relatives have worn out and shuffled off this mortal
coil. He arrived as a replacement.
And all the usual things will
start to happen. He will share his food with his best
friends, Fleabag and Pandie. They will also help keep
his face wiped off....not quite clean, but close.
There will be greasy fingerprints, mysteriously broken
dishes, frogs in the kitchen, worms in shirt pockets.
There will be stray animals, all of them will need a home.
And there will be the stray kids that need a home, also ...
and Finn will do his best to plead their case.
The question "Why?" will wear
out both Mom and Dad... and will seem like the acid test to
every new idea or thing that Finn experiences. And why
not?
Baths and naps will not be a
good idea until much later in life. Beverages will
only be good if they have a box, bottle or can around them.
Food will be simple, except for that one weird dish that no
one can make as well as the neighbor-kid's Mom.
Clothes will be utilitarian, until Dad explains why spending
an extra hundred on a pair of jeans will make him more
complete. And then it will only matter when a girl
notices the difference, and Finn is able to appreciate "why"
that is important. The baths will matter at that
point, also.
There will be cartoon
characters that neither Mom nor Dad understand, and up till
today, they were the hippest folks around. And
words... there will be words. Words that Finn
shouldn't have heard, and never should have repeated, but he
will. And when corrected, he will ask "Why". He
will have words that they don't understand. Language
evolves with the species. And Finn is now the leader
in the evolutionary race.
And for a while, Dad will be
the smartest and strongest man on the planet, and Mom will
be the prettiest woman on the planet. Grandma will be
the most understanding, and sloppiest kisser. But Finn
will tolerate it, because she doesn't say "No" and asks
"Why" as often as he does.
And someday he will settle the
"troubles" in Northern Ireland and the Middle East, while
curing cancer and developing the clean alternative to
petroleum. He will unite the religions of the world to
worship in as many languages as there are people, because
Faith and Love IS God, and knows no difference in the hearts
of men. He will pitch a perfect game in the seventh
game of the World Series, and be the first American to win
the Tour de France for an eighth time.
But first things first.
He will learn how to belch...from Dad. He will pick his nose
when there is company. He will learn to fart On Cue.
There will be flat tires on
bikes, broken toys, lost sneakers, bruise, cuts, and the
first trip to the Emergency Room. "You explain to the
policeman and the doctor how you got bruised LIKE THAT. No,
you are not in trouble, and hopefully Mom and Dad aren't
either." There will be loose teeth and bloody noses.
Sprains and ear wax. Remarkable dexterity with hand
tools. There will be moments of brilliance that show
that Finn is capable of original thought, and possibly
original sin. There will be moments that make Mom look
for the sign of the beast - triple sixes - in his mop of
hair. She might have to move the halo to find them.
And there will be that
mysterious time, when Finn helps that mean lady down the
street get her cat out of a tree... because it seemed like a
great adventure. When an act of kindness comes so
natural, because that is what seemed necessary at the time.
And the time when the veggie that he avoided for twelve
years becomes his favorite. And the few months that he
is more comfortable barking with the pets than talking to
his parents.
But right now, he still has a
few pounds that he needs to add to his frame. He has a
few more inches to add to his height. And he has to
get home to meet the dogs. It has been less than a day
in this new world. It is brighter, and cooler than the
old place. It does allow more movement. Getting
this idea of eating, and letting it pass are a few skills to
add to the list.
Right now, getting used to
being held by other humans, and checking out pre-schools
will be enough. World Peace, Solving the medical
mysteries, and ending suffering will have to wait till Day
Two.
Good Luck, Finn!
Good Luck Meg and Ron!
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