Hot Takes

In the spirit of football season, J and I are presenting hot takes this morning SportsCenter style on all the stuff that's going on in our life.

OWEN
J: He's always smiling, he figured out how to stick a finger up his nose, and he's already doing a great job making sounds. I think he can say fetch.
R: Mostly he needs to stop crawling off the side of the bed on purpose.
J: He's knocked over the trash can, the spice cabinet, baby gate, and a crate of of blocks in just the last hour alone.
R: And he's still smiling.

JAMES
J: Well, he's a hot mess. I'd be willing to swap him not eating his dinner for him washing all of the dishes I dirtied preparing the dinner for him.
R: This has got to just be a phase. He can't sit at the table and refuse to eat forever.
J: In other news, he's brilliant at learning the states, their names, and their location on a map.
R: I think he's being a brat.

WORK
R: I infinitely prefer commuting to Rochester than to Syracuse.
J: Semi-exciting, but I'll enjoy flute choir more once all of the new assignments are passed out and I don't have to use the copier again. Also, maybe this will be the year that the Pearce copier will finally work correctly and the internet will be consistent on Thursday afternoons.
R: And maybe this will be the year that all the conductors agree to rehearse the brass-heavy stuff first and then let us out early. And also the violas will stop complaining about the volume and asking for shields.
J: First two weeks are much improved with regards to amount of family time together.

PLUMBING
R: Well, I'd say there's literally $&$% falling from the ceiling.
J: It's making me feel 30 more than anything else in my life. Hardest part is the wear and tear on our family and interacting with each other more than actual plumbing problems itself.
R: Not getting showers makes it hard to be patient with each other. Or to exercise. Or have decent...marital life.
J: And our last go-round of using other people's bathtubs left them all with hand, foot, and mouth disease.

RUNNING
R: As I said...plumbing problems get in the way of exercising.
J: But, when we've been able to run, it's been good. It's been a great chance to connect, and I'm getting better at it. I think even you would say I don't suck as much as I used to.
R: You certainly don't suck as much as you used to.
J: Trying to justify the expense of the nice shoes. Which I love, and make running a lot easier.

READING
J: <sticks finger up in air> Glad to be able to contribute on this topic. I've read several books in the past month, including an autobiography...memoir? What's the difference? Anyway, about a physical therapist at the Walter Reed Medical Center, and a journalist's survival at the Culinary Institute of America's classes. Can you make that sound nicer and more succinct than what I just said?
R: And I just finished a Logic text, am reading Philemon and Baucis today in Ovid (one of my favorites) and am just about to start in on Euclid in Greek, plus finishing up Byron's Don Juan. And no, I can't polish this up because Calvus just pulled into the driveway, and it's time to go say hi to him and Silas.