My chance to be Mr. Mom in the city by the bay.

Dogs are harder than children.

This week I am at my sister's house in the Haight Ashbury District in San Francisco. Not quite a vacation but an activity I can reasonably handle with naps. I am house sitting and getting her kids to their various activities. As I walked down the hill today, I had an epiphany that my dog is more stressful than children.   The kids are teenagers and blessedly self-feeding and cleaning. They are in my top 20 favorites list of nices and nephews. Intelligent, funny, thoughtful, what more could I ask for? On the other hand, my dog only likes me and judges me all day long. However, the dog is much more agreeable to wearing the leash and getting petted.  

I am an excellent guardian based on my only two criteria for success; first, the kids have not inadvertently summoned any demons; however, it's early days, so don't lose hope, and secondly, no one has starved. We will see how long the Costco order my family laid in lasts.

This week I am reading this week

The 57 Bus | Dashka Slater

My sister has some great books, and I pulled this one off the shelf. I usually do audiobooks, but reading works for me too. It's a story about a trans kid getting set on fire while on a bus ride home from school by another kid. A horrible crime for sure. It talks about California's juvenile justice system. It was among the worst systems in the country, but it has been reformed to be among the best. I like that the people in the story sought a positive outcome.