Perimeter Sweep:            An Assortment of Stuff from Gary Horton

Our son's 1st birthday is today. This is difficult to believe. How is it that all of these children I know are growing up so fast, while I don't age at all? At least my friends tell me I look the same as I ever did. Hmmm...maybe it's like my Dad once said about his girlfriend-at-the-time (settle down - he was single-at-the-time), "She looks pretty good to me, but you know my vision just isn't that good anymore...".

Aimee is taking him to bed now (our son, not my Dad; puh-leeze settle down), and he's waving buh-bye to me as they go upstairs. I'm reasonably certain this is the cutest kid ever. Judge for yourself, here's a candid shot:

Our boy's name is Connor. Connor Michael. He sports a keen fashion sense, no?

Connor lives with two Huskies (he's part of a pack...). Now, as Connor knows, Huskies are the kind of dog where you have to be in the mood for adventure. So, for example, whenever we go to some new dog park, their first move is to check the boundaries - hoping, as it were, not to find any. There was this time we entered a dog park via a double-lock gate...which would seem to add a certain sense of security...I mean, once you enter through a double-lock gate, what's the worst that could happen? Moments later, my smug self-assurance turns to horror: they've noticed the dog park lacks a fence on one side. A dog park...entered by a double-lock gate...but enclosed on only three sides. Lending new meaning to the sign outside the park: "Boulder County Open Space".

On the plus side, it was an opportunity for heart rate zones 4 and 5, if you catch my meaning. Since then, I do a perimeter sweep before entering unfamiliar dog parks - just some insurance that I'll leave with the same number of Huskies I came with.

So, "perimeter sweeps". That's what Connor does, it's what the Huskies do, and now it's what I do. Check the boundaries, find a way to get outside the box, but first confirm there is a box. Balance is essential for everyone's best interests.

More on double-lock gates later. It's my son's first birthday. Wow.