There's Something About Dogs and Babies

It amazes me how friendly people can be when you appear to share a common bond, especially when that bond is babies and dogs. I encountered this phenomenon when we first got Charlie and we started walking him around the neighborhood. He was a damn cute puppy (still cute now, just huge) and so of course it didn't surprise me that people wanted to stop and pet him, but what I found really interesting was the willingness of strangers, mostly other dog owners, to jump immediately into conversation simply for the fact that we had a four-legged furball walking alongside of us. I've always been something of an introvert so perhaps that's why I find it more surprising, but still I can't help but wonder everytime I meet a new dog owner if they would have even nodded hello to me if it wasn't for the leash and poop bag dangling in my hand.

Now that I have a baby the phenomenon has of course widened from dog owners to other parents. We take walks in the neighborhood everyday and starting back when I was pregnant I noticed a change even then, it was as if my baby bump was a calling card for other parents or soon-to-be parents. I may as well have been wearing a giant sandwich board advertising my impending motherhood and sudden inception into the "parent club" as each outing seemed to produce more new aquaintances.

Just the other day I was out for a midday walk in the neighborhood with Sofie and Charlie, when a young mom just coming out of her car stopped to greet me hello as if we were old friends. She was friendly and not completely crazy so I didn't really mind much that she chatted me up for a good fifteen minutes before I finally managed to drag Charlie away from the small child she had with her, that he so anxiously wanted to play with. Now don't get me wrong, I'm not some weirdo hermit who avoids all human contact, in fact I always go out of my way to smile and say hello to people that I pass on the street (a nicety I wish more people partook in), but usually when it comes to strangers that's about as far as the communication goes. I mean, let's be real, we live in a scary world where even seemingly nice people can turn out to be axe murderers, so why does having a dog or baby make you so much more approachable?

I mean, to be honest, we have met a few nice people and it does feel pretty pleasant and small town-ish to be able to greet people by name in the neighborhood, but I'm not sure it will ever stop surprising me each time we make a new aquaintance. I guess I will just have to try to get used to my new membership in the parent's club, I just wish they would hurry up and send me my secret decoder ring.

My Year Of Reading Wirelessly

As I have mentioned previously I spend a great deal of time rocking Sofie and am able to read books via the Kindle app on my iPhone while I do so. I've already made my way through, the recent Dan Brown, three Jane Austen titles, Prep, Wuthering Heights and my crowing achievement, the 800-plus page Anna Karenina. I'm currently making my way through the Bronte sisters, having just finished Wuthering Heights, I've now begun Jane Eyre.

I've probably read more books for pleasure in the last four months than I have in the last four years altogether and I'm obsessed. I actually find the reading to be fast and easy on the phone, I think I even prefer it reading on the Kindle itself. My goal is to read as many books as possible using only my iPhone and I'll see what the tally is at the end of the year. If you hadn't already sensed a theme, I have been reading mostly classics. At first this was purely a financial choice, as all the digital books in the public domain are either free or just .99 cents to download from Amazon, but now I'm hooked and intent on reading as many classics as I can. I may even consider tackling War and Peace, I wonder if I'll be the first person to ever read the entire tome on a phone?


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

F4BM Mag Issue One

Check out my article, "Year of the Cheater" in the very first issue of Fems For Better Men Magazine!