The scream was like a banshee in pain October 12, 2008 9:30 pm
Posted by Doug McCaughan in : Amy, Daily Life, Dharma, Evan, Family, From the mouths of babes, Molly, Noah, Of Being Dad, Pets , add a comment
The house quieted. Evan declared, "Give me bop. I go bed now." And with a little reluctance, he put himself to sleep. Noah coaxed Amy to bed but she sprang back after he slipped out to read a book. In the meantime, I took the dogs outside and sat on the porch, shirtless to enjoy the cool evening air with no mosquitoes and chant. Shortly into chanting, the peaceful neighborhood with its waxing gibbous moon (96% full) being sung to by crickets erupted into a cacophony of barks and howls. I continued to chant and Dharma and Molly, my German Shepherds, sat silently alert. Then there was the shriek! Altogether to close! Thanks to our camping in the Okefenokee, I am quiet familiar with the sound of fighting raccoon and I do not want my dogs tangling with one of those. Chanting ends. I usher the dogs inside to find Amy having trouble sleeping so we go to her bed and chant together until she is calm enough to sleep.
Of Being Dad October 9, 2008 8:45 am
Posted by Doug McCaughan in : Amy, Cathy, Daily Life, Dharma, Evan, Family, Noah, Of Being Dad, Pets, Sarah , 2commentsThis morning was cool…until I got up. Cathy swapped roles with me this morning and got the children ready for school. What a relaxing way to start the day! I allowed myself 20 extra minutes of sleep then calmly got dressed and went upstairs to lend a hand by making Amy’s lunch. We were right on time to make the bus but pushing it. I had a simple plan: Amy and I run to the van and get to the bus stop. I remind the air, "Don’t let Dharma out!" It has been raining and I don’t have time to clean her feet for a van ride and still be able to get Amy to school. Then Evan runs into the kitchen with sticky buns caked to his hands. I exclaim, "Go wash your hands" but he needs help and no one is moving his direction. Cathy and I simultaneously take him to the bathroom and wash his hands. Suddenly Evan is to be a passenger. I’m watching the clock tick knowing that we are at a coin flip on making the bus or not. We rush to the front door and it magically opens and Dharma shoots out. I lunge for her and miss and she lands paws in the mud then digs in to race to the van. I lose it. I engage chase and booming voice (sorry neighbors). Dharma does something new, and hides under the van. All I picture is a dog that now needs a bath on a day that I don’t need distractions. She won’t come out so I honk the horn (sorry neighbors), yell, toss some rocks, why am I still trying to make the bus, the neighbor returns from the bus stop, the children are out trying to help so I yell at them to go back inside, Sarah gets Dharma out, I smack the dog and drag her by the scruff of the neck back inside, children are crying, dog is scared, and everyone is mad at me.
How could this have gone differently? All I had to do was close the front door. Within 15 seconds, Dharma would have been scratching to come inside. We could have said something witty and laughed instead of cried. And who cares if we missed the bus. I want to be that perfect tv dad. Can I have take 2?
2commentsFrom the mouths of babes September 11, 2008 8:31 am
Posted by Doug McCaughan in : Amy, Daily Life, Dharma, Evan, Family, From the mouths of babes, Molly, Noah, Of Being Dad, Pets , 1 comment so farAmy, three, with Noah, twelve, beside her: "Can the dogs go with us to school?" (she means carpool)
Dad: "Sure but don’t let them in the car until I wipe their feet."
Noah, Evan, Amy and the dogs walk out the door. Dad from the front porch hollers: "Don’t let the dogs in the car until their feet get wiped."
Noah walks to car and puts hand on door handle. Dad yells: "Don’t let the dogs in the van!"
Noah opens the door and lets Dharma in with no effort to stop her.
Dad goes on a tirade: {this part is unprintable}
Noah: "I thought you were talking to Amy."
How to express discontent August 20, 2008 5:00 pm
Posted by Doug McCaughan in : Daily Life, Family, Of Being Dad, Pets, Two Paws , add a commentOur indoor cat is fairly tolerant. The litter box can be down right foul and she still uses it. Last night my pillow was marked by the cat. This morning the dog bed was marked by the cat. A pair clean pants was marked by the cat. And now, the couch marked by the cat. Perhaps she was expressing her discontent that someone had thrown trash into her litter box.
Today I learned that I can punt a 30 yard field goal and have the football land on its feet. Perhaps I was expressing my discontent over an expression of discontent.
add a commentThat clean feeling..briefly August 3, 2008 9:53 am
Posted by Doug McCaughan in : Daily Life, Dharma, Molly, Pets , 2commentsThis morning I arose to a quiet household, took a meditative scalding hot bath, and was feeling exceeding clean right up until that moment I stepped out of the bathroom to discover…dog vomit.
2commentsCat Kills Bat; I have evil thoughts for cat July 30, 2008 3:56 pm
Posted by Doug McCaughan in : Daily Life, Gray, Pets , add a commentThe outside cat killed another bat! How am I supposed to create a colony of bats with a bat killer outside?
add a commentThe punctuation at the end of the sentence April 25, 2008 10:29 pm
Posted by Doug McCaughan in : Daily Life, Dharma, Family, Molly, Of Being Dad, Pets , add a commentWhat is today’s punchline? We locked the dogs in the bathroom to get Noah to his black belt test tonight. One of the dogs could not wait until we got home so we have runny dog poop all over the bathroom and two dogs to bathe. Of course I have to be up at 6am so I can get the car to Firestone for a new tire, rotation and alignment check. There may be a midnight beer run in order.
add a commentMy child walks the road where dogs go to die April 20, 2008 5:53 pm
Posted by Doug McCaughan in : Amy, Cathy, Daily Life, Family, Of Being Dad, Pets , 5commentsThank you strangers, whoever you were, for delivering my child from harms way. See, I just washed the dog, was shirtless, and looking fairly unpresentable having just returned from leading 17 boys on a rock climbing camping trip. By the time I grabbed a shirt you were gone. I suppose I should have just gone to your car. It would have completed the picture of an irresponsible white trash parent for you. My almost 6 year old daughter was trying to find the neighbor’s dog after it ran away and the neighbor, thinking the children wouldn’t wander far, told the children they could not come back into the house until the dog was found. My daughter knows she cannot go past a certain marking on the street but apparently did not know she could not cross the creek. That creek is thick with mud and still has water from our recent deluges. She found her way to Northshore Drive which is one of those roads riddled with crosses on the shoulder and enough road kill to create an A to Z picture book of dead animals. This is the same road I fought for three years to convince the school that our elementary school bus stop should not be on that road.
I have to say this event has created conflict in so many ways. The wife and I are bitterly angry at each other because I grew furious that she wouldn’t go greet you. She did not understand what I was asking, did not see you pull up, and also considered herself unpresentable. Instead you met my oldest son. He has an issue with social situations and does not understand things like asking for your name so that I have some semblance of a clue about whether or not you were friends or just plain good Samaritans. You also met my dog who is a very friendly and safe German Shepherd but has taken to running toward strangers at the house with a fear inducing bark but really she just wants to say hi and let us know you are here. I got mad because I just soaked myself and made my back ache giving her a bath on the porch but apparently I am the only person in our family capable of opening the front door without letting the dog outside. I am upset with my daughter for straying so far from home, for being on such a dangerous road, and for getting in a car with someone she did not recognize, "because she told [her] to get in and [she] didn’t want to be rude." At the same time, I am thrilled that she got in the car with you! I will have to re-think this whole brainwashing our children to not trust strangers bit. After all, aren’t most people good? Shouldn’t we trust each other? Thanks again for keeping my child safe!
Update: Later the neighbor did drive out and find their dog safe and sound.
5commentsStrange Animals April 14, 2008 10:48 am
Posted by Doug McCaughan in : Daily Life, Dharma, Family, Gray, Molly, Pets , add a commentMy nearing 4 year old German Shepherd is laying on the porch. The outdoor cat is rubbing on her and laying in her lap. The nearing 6 month old German Shepherd is in the yard with her head quirked and a perplexed look on her face as if to say, "Now’s your chance! Why aren’t eating it?!"
add a commentSarah trains Dharma March 29, 2008 2:00 pm
Posted by utterz in : Daily Life, Dharma, Pets, Podcasting, Sarah , add a comment add a commentDog bath March 11, 2008 7:31 pm
Posted by utterz in : Daily Life, Dharma, Pets, Podcasting , add a comment add a commentDogs February 29, 2008 6:41 am
Posted by Doug McCaughan in : Daily Life, Dharma, Pets , 1 comment so farYou can lead a dog to food, but you can’t make it eat. However, if you lead a dog to cat puke, it’ll lap the chuck up before you can bat an eye.
Terribly trying day ahead. I have a serious client deadline today. I mean probably the most serious I have ever had! Tommy’s financial aid paperwork is due today. I’m not yet sure if that means postmarked or hand delivered to the financial aid department. And Noah has been puking but seems to be nerves not flu. His doctor’s appointment is at 10am and either I’m taking him or watching the little two. If everything falls into place today, I’m celebrating tonight by going to bed before the children.
1 comment so farGag! Thar’s critters about! February 18, 2008 12:13 am
Posted by Doug McCaughan in : Daily Life, Pets , 1 comment so farThe smell of skunk has leaked into the house so badly that my eyes are wanting to water. There must have been one on the driveway and it either sprayed our outdoor cat or the neighbor’s dogs. Whatever happened, it wasn’t far away! I need new windows and doors!
1 comment so farProud Dad So Happy He Wet Himself February 14, 2008 11:13 am
Posted by Doug McCaughan in : Daily Life, Dharma, Evan, Family, Of Being Dad, Pets , 2commentsThis is one of those blogging moments that most people don’t want to read but I’m posting it anyway. My boy pee’d in the toilet! And on the toilet and on the seat and the wall and the floor. Yes, he recognized he needed to go and knew what to do! Of course, aiming and control seems to be an issue. Dude has a bladder and a half too! We could be a diaper free house soon! Even the puppy seems to be getting it. We may not even need the training pads that we used with Molly.
2commentsFrom the mouths of babes February 14, 2008 6:27 am
Posted by Doug McCaughan in : Amy, Daily Life, Family, From the mouths of babes, Pets , 2commentsAmy: "Our house is like a pet store."
Note: We are dog sitting for a few days so we have 3 dogs in the house, an indoor cat, a fish tank full of snails (maybe some fish), an outdoor cat, squirrels, and who knows what else.
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