ESTEBAN JOEL: AMAZING BOY BLOGGER: Kittens Go Bye Bye and Other Traumas

It was a phrase that I had never heard before. They just sprung it on me like a well-rehearsed team of motivational speaker ninjas one morning and it hit me like a freight train.

That's the thing about these two adults that I adopted... they're sneaky. They keep consorting behind my back and coming up with all kinds of strange themes and new rules and stupid sayings.
Big Boys don't suck their thumbs...
Screaming isn't going to make the car seat go away...
Eat first... Play later And now... Kittens go Bye Bye.

What does that even mean? Kittens go Bye Bye? What... did they drive themselves away? Did they call for a taxi? Did they catch a bus somewhere? It happened a couple of days ago. Those cute kittens that were living outside my front door for the last couple of weeks, suddenly... they were gone.

I came out in the morning looking to play with them, like I have everyday for the last 2 weeks, and they weren't there. I looked up at Daddy confused and he patted me on the head and said those famous imortal words: Kittens go bye bye...

WHAT DO YOU MEAN KITTENS GO BYE BYE?!!!

They can't just go bye bye. They had names! There was Willy and Celia... and the twins; Mayra and Sonia. Kittens don't go bye bye on their own. Kittens get taken bye bye. I understand, I guess. They were very messy and they were ruining Mommy's plants out front... but they were my friends!

But this brings up a disturbing trend that I see forming within our family dynamic. The decision to get rid of the kittens was made by Mommy and Daddy alone... without consulting me at all. No memo was sent... no family meeting to discuss it... nothing. Uh... question. Is this the way it's going to be from now on? Major decisions just being made willy nilly without even so much as a shout out to the kid? Really? Because I was under the impression that this was going to be a democracy.

So far, they have been checking with me on everything. Do I like the food? Are my PJs comfy? Do I like the milk formula? Do I like the toys? And so on... But not this. I wonder if this was a one-time fluke or if they intend to continue making important decisions for me for the rest of my life... Hmmmm.

Trauma #2: I'm suffering through my first official cold/flu type sickness since arriving to Miami. Mommy, Daddy and I have been passing the same virus back and forth between the 3 of us for the last month or so.

It all started when I sneezed into Daddy's open mouth while he was in the middle of saying Papi Te Ama. I guess love really does hurt sometimes.

I am starting to have trouble sleeping through the night again. I'm starting to wake up around 4 AM everyday with heavy congestion and coughing.

Oh sure, eventually Mommy gets me to calm down with a little TLC and some help from a nebulizer and some baby vapor rub that she puts on my chest... but by then the damage is done and it's time for her to go to get ready for work and she's already been up for 2 hours.

I need to shake this cold and get myself and this household back in order. I'm starting to realize the incredible amount of power that I have. Mostly everything that goes on at home revolves around me and my schedule. If I have a bad day, the whole house gets thrown out of whack. If I don't sleep, nobody sleeps. If I'm not hungry, guess what?... You're not eating either. But if I'm healthy and in a good mood... then everything runs smooth.

I feel like I owe it to everybody in this house to get healthy so that everything can go back to normal around here.

Why?

Because those are the types of things that you do for family.

Ok, Mommy. I'll dance a salsa song with you. But I must remind you that I am more of a bacheata man.

Miguel Angel and I became best friends because we share the same pain. Both of our Daddies are follicly-challenged.

I've been sitting here for over an hour and, for the life of me, I can't figure out how these two puzzle pieces go together. What is this... some sort of MIT Engineering School entry exam?