This is not to say the summer hasn’t been fun – we’ve certainly made a conscious effort to enjoy the time that we have together with our now toddling daughter in the few months of the year when Earth’s closest star actually makes an appearance in upstate NY.  We’ve had our fair share of the zoo, playgrounds, even a weeklong trip to the Poconos in an effort to track down the elusive New Jersey Devil, rumored to have been flushed out of Newark by rabid Nets fans.  And in a week or so we head to the Jersey shore with my family to thoroughly test the occupancy limit of a rental house and to (hopefully) gather some gently used syringes from the beach.

I must admit though, lately, I’ve been a bit “down in the dumps,” so to speak, and not just because of the untimely exit of the Alizma triplets on America’s Got Talent.  I’ve been quick to anger, overly sullen, and the pH of my sarcasm has dripped solidly more acidic than normal.  Even the cats have been staying out of my way, which is unfortunately bad news for them because that’s the only way I remember to feed them.  It’s been rough.

But despite it all, there is one thing that can bring a toothy prospector grin to this old mug, and that is the wide smiles and infectious laughter of my daughter as she toddles about, arms raised in Thriller tribute, squealing in delight at her newfound bipedal tendencies.  She is abundantly proud (and rightly so) of her continuing mastery of the art of walking, and it shows.  It definitely helps to lift my spirits on these cloudy days I find myself in.

Of course so does the booze.

- MWF -

Happy Fatherhood Friday to all, and to all a good day!