feeding taddy

I was performing the bedtime routine for our 3 year old twins, Zoe and Zane.  Everything was normal, they were fighting the nap, but still complying.  They brushed their teeth.  They changed into their pajamas and were heading to bed.  It was then that I noticed that something was out of place.  On the dresser was a small container of tadpole/frog food that had been residing in Julie's dressar drawer.  I asked Zoe and Zane why the food was out and they responded, "We were feeding Taddy." 

If you are wondering who Taddy is, I will have to go back a few months.  Zachary, our oldest son, purchased with his birthday money a Star Wars themed tadpole habitat.  We then purchased a small tadpole that he named Taddy.  Zack did a great job of taking care of Taddy.  He fed him, cleaned his tank and took time with Taddy every day.

One day Zach came downstairs and said, "Come see what Taddy is doing, it's really funny."  The funny thing that Taddy was doing was "swimming" upside down in his tank.  Julie informed him that Taddy wasn't being funny, he had in fact died.  This devastated young Zach.  We consoled him. We talked about the options of what to do with Taddy.  Zach decided on a water burial (down the toilet).  We poured him in and Julie offered to say a prayer.  Then we gave Zach a chance to say something.  As he started to speak, his brother Zane walked in, sippy cup in his mouth.  He sauntered over to the toilet, looked in, removed the cup, smiled and said, "Hi Taddy".  Zach stopped his speech, rolled his eyes, flushed the toilet and walked out.

So months later, when two 3 year olds find a container of food, what choice do they have but to dump some into the last place that they saw Taddy. 

the sounds of "nothing"

To digress is to depart or deviate for the main topic or purpose.  I originally picked this as a title to my blog because I tend to wander a bit when I am writing, calling me to use the title phrase fairly often.  But the more I thought about it, it runs deeper than that.

I have a hard time expressing my thoughts and sharing my emotions in the "real" world (often to the consternation of my lovely wife).  But something happens when I am writing.  Veiled in the anonymity of the Internet, I am able to let some barriers down and share the thoughts and feelings that run through my mind but never make it to my lips.

For any of you that know me personally, you know that I tend to be quiet.  My answer to the question "what are you thinking", is often "nothing" or a vague snapshot of what is rattling around inside of my head.  When I first met my wife Julie, she perceived me as a snob, a rugby playing, party guy that was too cool for her.  The truth is that I come off quiet because I am shy and introspective.  In social situations I am quiet often because I am self conscious about how I will sound when contributing to the conversation.  I rehearse my response in my head, then gauge how my comments will play within the group.  Usually by the time I have "perfected" my input, the conversation has moved on to a point that my thoughts would be awkwardly placed, so I just remain quiet.   

This blog is my digression.  A tangent from the noise of everyday life.  A window into how I answer the question, "what are you thinking".  A chance for me to collect my thoughts, and arrange them in a way to start or at least move a conversation forward.  So here we go ...