ask Shaffer -- if you dare.

I'm fairly certain that anyone who knows me, even just a little, would say that I take being a parent pretty seriously. It's a great job really. Not that I was remotely qualified or ready for the duty but somehow, someway, we've muddled through. And like most jobs there's a portion of the job that is great...so naturally there's a portion that sucks. A couple of weeks ago, I got a primo reminder of this. [Flashback time] When Kristie and I bought our first house back in 1988, we had a plan. First the house. Then a dog and a cat. Then kids. Oh yea, before kids, we needed a car. And we executed that plan. Our nifty little house in Highlands Ranch was really nice, for a "starter" home. Two weeks later, we went to the Denver Dumb Friends League and picked out a nice little Golden Retriever/Aussie puppy and a tiny little black and white kitten. The dog was named Sadie, the cat Rita. Phase two of the plan complete. We went on to successfully execute the rest of...