Last week was my Spring Break. While my parents enjoyed a vacation in Arizona, I sat at home baby-sitting our pets. When I got home around 5:30am on Friday morning, my parents were just getting up for their flight. We visited for a while, then I went to bed so I could get some rest before my 11am doctor's appointment. When I awoke, I found a note asking me to take Tessie, our youngest cat, to the veterinarian. Apparently, she hadn't been eating much and she was having trouble going to the kitty box. It turned out that she had crystals in her bladder and a urinary tract infection. Since my parents had left for Arizona, I had the privilege of caring for her. Between Tessie being sick and puppy sitting Mandy, I began to feel like a parent.
Later that day, I picked up Tessie from the vet. I hadn't cared for a sick animal by myself before, so I really had no idea what I was doing. I had to give her pills (including a muscle relaxant) and make sure she was eating well. While I was acting like a parent by caring for a sick child animal, I figured I might as well try to act like an adult in other ways as well. Saturday afternoon, I went to the store and purchased loads of food, including sausage, bacon, and quesadilla supplies. Now if I could've just remembered how to cook.
Following is a list of thoughts from my week as an adult.
March 1, 2002 -- Day 1
- I find myself trying to be courteous when I let the dog out and not watch when she goes to the bathroom. Well, I have to watch her to make sure she goes, but when I see that she's going, I'll turn around or something. Sometimes she just gives me this look, as if she were saying,
Can't I go to the bathroom without someone looking at me? You'd think I was some sort of animal, or something.
- The best resource I'll have when I become a father is other people. I simply had no idea what to do when I got the cat home from the vet, so I called my parents. I think this is part of their revenge; my Dad always told me that his revenge on me was knowing that I'd have kids just like me. They must be enjoying this.
March 2, 2002 -- Day 2
- Note to self: always check boots after walking the dog at the duck pond. Ewww.
- Further note to self: whoever made Resolve Carpet Cleaner is a genius.
- My parents have taught Mandy only to go to the bathroom when she's told. In other words, I have to tell her to
go pee
and / orgo poop
when she goes outside. Otherwise she just looks at me, waiting for some insight into how to solve the problems with her bladder and bowels. Cats don't need to be told to go to the bathroom....
March 3, 2002 -- Day 3
Tessie doesn't like taking her pills. I still couldn't get Tessie to take her second pill, the muscle relaxant. The first pill, the antibiotic, was a struggle, but she swallowed it. The cats aren't eating much of their diet dry food (part of Tessie's treatment), but I'm hoping they'll get used to it and devour it soon. For breakfast, I made myself three soft boiled eggs, a piece of toast to add to the eggs, and a cinnamon raisin bagel.
- Bodies of water are like magnets to puppies.
- With as much time as they spend together (water and dogs), you would think that wet dogs would smell better.
- As much as dogs like bodies of water, you'd think they'd enjoy showers. And smelling good.
March 4, 2002 -- Day 4
Again, Tessie wouldn't take her muscle relaxant. Mandy wouldn't leave me alone this morning, so I took her for a walk at around 10:30am. Then, she wouldn't leave me alone most of the afternoon, so I took her for another walk around 2:30pm. After that, she slept most of the afternoon. I didn't have trouble with Tessie's antibiotic and I've now given up on the muscle relaxant.
Breakfast this morning was a butter crescent, a glass of orange juice, and three pieces of Jimmy Dean Regular Premium Pork Sausage. The sausage took a bit long to cook, but it was good. I ran out of orange juice, so I had to settle for water for the rest of my meal. Some people need coffee in the mornings. I need juice.
Lunch was a ham and cheese sandwich broiled in the oven. Before going to school, I frequented a deli near work and I often got hot ham and cheese sandwiches. If I remember correctly, they warmed the sandwiches in a toaster. Since we don't have a suitable toaster, I figured I'd stick the sandwich on a cookie sheet in the oven for a couple of minutes. I got impatient after waiting ten minutes for the oven to warm up to broil, so I just stuck the sandwich in there. Coming back five minutes later, the sandwich was well done. The top piece of bread was a bit charred, but it still tasted really good. For dessert, I had a piece of the cheesecake I made yesterday. The topping is a bit hard, so it's hard to cut bite sized pieces without smushing all the filling out of the sides of the piece of pie, but otherwise I did a good job on the pie.
Dinner was some leftover rice concoction from last night with a hunk of challah bread. Following dinner was another piece of cheesecake. Of course, since I didn't cook tonight, I don't have to deal with dishes. Bonus.
Today's Thoughts:
- The hardest thing for me about cooking isn't getting the recipes correct or worrying about burning things, but coordinating everything. When you have french fries that take 17 minutes to cook, rice that takes 30 minutes to cook, and you want to make a cheesecake at the same time, it takes some thought as to when to start what dish, especially if you expect to eat everything together.
- I think the dirty dishes in our house are reproducing.
- Cars are expensive. Belle is in the shop for problems I had on the way home from school. Oh well, I want my car, so what's a guy to do, eh?
A glimpse of the intelligence of Mandy (a chocolate lab):
How many dogs does it take to change a light bulb?
- Golden retriever:
The sun is out, the day is young and you're worrying about a stupid light bulb?- Border collie:
Just one. And then I'll replace any wiring that's not up to code.- Lab:
Oh me! Me! Pleeese let me change the bulb! Can I? Can I?- Rottweiler:
Make me.- Old English sheepdog:
Light bulb? I don't see a light bulb.- Cat:
Dogs do not change light bulbs. People change light bulbs. So the question is, how long will it be before I can expect light?
March 5, 2002 -- Day 5
- I bought way too much food.
- The phone continues to be my best friend. Whether I like it or not, I do depend on my parents a lot and when I'm out of college and really on my own, I'm sure I'll call them all the time. A sweet revenge, indeed.
March 6, 2002 -- Day 6
- It's intimidating walking up to a bar for the first time.
- Someone needs to invent a doggie water fountain and install one at the park near my house. I ran Mandy around for about half an hour and she was panting like crazy (aside: I think the more thirsty a dog is, the farther its tongue hangs out of its mouth). I hadn't brought water along for her, so I really needed a doggie water fountain. Alas, there wasn't one. Poor Mandy had to wait until we got home.
March 7, 2002 -- Day 7
- Web logs have birthdays too.
- Dogs have one way of communicating their needs: whining. Luckily (unlike babies), they can give you an idea of what they're whining about by making you follow them.
- The smacking noise heard when dogs shake themselves is their ears hitting the sides of their head.
March 8, 2002 -- Day 8
- No matter how hard I try, Mandy routinely refuses to go to the bathroom in our yard. Of course, I wouldn't have to clean it up if it were in our yard. About two minutes after we begin her walk, she goes to the bathroom. Thus, I must clean it up and discard of it. Half of the time, this means returning to our house to throw it in the trash. I wish she would just go on our property, I really do.
- Fetch.
March 9, 2002 -- Day 9
- Sometimes it's nice to have a mom around. I went for a walk today with Mandy and a friend from high school, Missy. Corri (my sister) also came home tonight and helped me care for the household. It's a nice feeling having someone else around with instincts.
- Dogs have one look: the infamous puppy dog face.
March 10, 2002 -- Day 10
- I'm not ready to be a father. Thank goodness I still have plenty of time before I have the responsibilities of an adult.
