Long post. Nothing else to do this evening.
My stepdaughter brought her new "babies" over this evening. Her son died of cancer one year ago this Friday and she's going a little nuts with nurturing, much to the advantage of some puppies. She's been active in Pit Bull rescue for a couple of months and took responsibility for these two yesterday. Back story - the mom dog had one puppy, which didn't eat enough to keep her producing milk. Her one pup was going to starve. The vet thought if they could get another puppy in the family she would continue to lactate. They found a 6 day old male, but the mom rejected it - so forcefully that it had to have stitches. So my step daughter is bottle feeding them both, rubbing their butts with warm water to get them to poo - the whole thing. She is occupied, which she needs at this time, and the puppies are benefiting. At 7 and 9 days old they are TOO cute.
Other side of the family, I recently talked to my son about what a great father he is. His comment - " We try hard to give them all we can without spoiling them. It's a fine line. They don't have all the latest stuff, it's good to have them want for things. Opportunities are much better than material goods, it's an investment that usually has returns." I don't know where he got his wisdom. It wasn't me. The proof - my grandson is a little league star. My granddaughter sang at Fenway park last week and will be at Carnegie Hall in January. I couldn't be more proud.