Blame The Bunny

August 23rd, 2009 marks 40 years of Gamma and Papa's marriage. HAPPY ANNIVERSARY, we LOVE you! I can hardly think of anything that lasts 40 years let alone something that requires two individuals to not just LOVE each other but actually LIKE each other (which I sometimes think is actually more challenging) around the clock, which is probably why it takes so many different forms. It has to in order to suit each individual person enjoying it. Love affairs just happen to be like that, varying in nature and appearance and sound and smell and such.

Ash happens to have several current love affairs, but three that tend to preoccupy him more than others. #1: Chocolate, #2: Sidewalk Chalk, #3: The Bunny.

The 3 of us recently enjoyed lawn seats at a Phish concert in NY which started with the typical Phish tailgating fiesta where Ash (while doing somersaults over the back seat) discovered a bag of sidewalk chalk we had stored away for a future impromptu chalking moment. We had already said "no no no no" (which may have in reality actually sounded like "NO NO NO NO") to MANY "homemade brownies" being sold by our tailgating neighbors, so we gave in and opted to encourage sidewalk chalk love over chocolate love, despite the lack of sidewalk space available to actually properly utilize his sidewalk chalk love.

But we have a resourceful child on our hands folks, so no lack of sidewalk was going to put a damper on his don't-eat-the-brownies fun. Look mom! I'm drawing!


And then we decided to just let the moment be. As long as he had stopped asking for the brownies (or anything else baked for that matter, although HUGE thumbs up to the vendors for being VERY proactive in letting us know that we should skip their tent and move on to the next...). After all, he was loving a new found option to create body art via sidewalk chalk while those around him were, well, enjoying their own little versions of love affairs. But I would be doing an injustice if I didn't also report that Ash's body art was by far the best in the crowd despite some serious competition. Apparently your typical Phish groupie hasn't taken the time to learn the true art of stylizing the bod with sidewalk chalk.

And then along comes The Bunny. When we looked at his beautiful body sidewalk chalk art with puzzled faces not sure if we should be fully embracing this new talent he promptly decided to blame it on The Bunny. Mommy! Bunny draw on Ashton's tummy! And then later on in the week at dinner he became quite agitated and finally shared with us that The Bunny had stolen his knife and we needed to tip toe tip toe after him to go get it. Seriously. As our meal progressed we discovered that The Bunny had also taken his shoes, the sugar packet from the table, his red chair, and daddy's car. So, as any good parent would do we commenced a full on investigation starting with a profile picture. On the back of the restaurant's place mat. During dinner. Ash made it very clear that it was an extra tall bunny, with black curly hair, who must have taken the sugar packets so that he could make a birthday cake. But not for mommy or daddy, it was clearly a birthday cake for Ashton. This is the official police profile as described by Ash:

So at the end of the day there have been many lessons learned. Don't eat the brownies, you don't need a sidewalk to have fun with sidewalk chalk, and when all else fails blame The Bunny. I imagine that last one could come in handy as we embark on our own personal expedition to successfully make it from 8 years to 40 years. Yes, I foresee some serious Bunny blaming. And maybe, just maybe, some brownie eating. Which of course, we'll blame on The Bunny.

Happy anniversary Gamma and Papa, 40 years and you're still rockin it, without eating the brownies OR blaming The Bunny. We love you!