I have a confession to make: My resolve to deny my son Jackson his request for a dog is beginning to flag. I was proud of myself when we got through Christmas without giving in to the incessant questioning: "Are y'all gonna get me a dog?" "Is Santa bringing me a dog?" "How come Brady has a dog?" "Did you have a dog when you were five?" "How come you had a dog, and I can't have a dog."I say I'm proud because there were a number of you betting on the fact that Jeanette and I would cave in, and we didn't. I guess you figured that the kid is so darned cute he's bound to get to us eventually. My wife and I have stayed on the same script: "When a family decides to have a dog, everyone has to be ready, and we're not all ready just yet."
And he bought that for a while, but I think he feels my resolve starting to crumble. He tries to get me to participate in straw polls when I give him this answer now, responding with, "Well, Daddy, are you one of the people who is ready, or not ready." Unconvincingly I explain that I'm one of the not-readys.
In addition to the strategy I mentioned above, (staying "on-message" with Jeanette) I have tried a couple of other tactics to respond to Jackson's manipulation. He and I sat at the computer and wrote a little story together about a boy named Jackson and his dog named Blinky (or something like that). We even found a picture of Blinky from Google images. (He's a chihuahua.) Jackson liked it so much, we printed it out and stuck it on his bedroom door. We've also visited a couple of dogs. We stopped in on our neighbors, an elderly couple, who let Jackson feed their chihuahua, Pepper.
I think it was this dog-visiting strategy that led to the wane in my resolve. Last weekend I took the boys up to Round Rock to visit my old high school buddy, Mignon Young, and to meet their new puppy, Tuffy. I took a few pictures with my Blackberry, not expecting much. The photo quality is okay, but no great shakes.
Unfortunately, God can sometimes be a cruel trickster, because as I was looking through those shots, I came across the one I've included above. The expression on my son's face is so full of love and wonder and joy and DAMMIT! I can hear Jeanette already. "Stay the course, Dan. Stay the course."
I know, I know, but come on. I mean, look at that face. I'm slipping. I don't want to pick up dog poop.
But I'm slipping.
