Out-Numbered

And then there is death... My oldest daughter is turning ten this week. She is pretty and smart and fragile and strong. She is an open book. She is a puzzle with a million pieces. She is an old soul tethered to a dark past. She is a bright light shining through a gray sky. She is inexplicably unique yet she is exactly like me. Oldest: "Daddy?" Me: "Yes baby." Oldest: "I don't want to turn ten." Me: "How come?" Oldest: "I just don't want to." Me: "But it wouldn't be any fun staying 9 forever, would it?" Oldest: "I don't care." Me: "Don't you want to do all the things you can do when you get older? Oldest: "Like what?" Me: "Well you can drive. You can go to the mall on your own and with your friends. You can fall in love. All kinds of great stuff." Oldest: "I don't want to get married and I don't want to have kids or grand kids." ...

My daughters are so beautifully simple and yet complicated at the same time. The way they look through me. The way they walk from the house to the car. The way they brush their hair after a bath. Everything about them makes me wonder how on earth I could have had anything to do with any of their inherent goodness. Sometimes it makes me laugh out loud and sometimes it takes all of my will to hold back the tears. My wife and I made the decision to adopt a puppy a few weeks ago. It was a surprise to the kids. For obvious reasons, my only condition was that the puppy had to be a boy. The other day, my little one asked me where the puppy's penis was. I pointed at it. Little one: "That doesn't look like a penis." Me: "Well, that's what a doggy penis looks like." Little one: "It's hairy." Me: "Sure is." Little one: "Why is it so hairy?" Me: "Because dogs are hairy, so their penises are hairy." ...