Rats and Dogs

My daughter, Tina, was born in a Rat year according to the Chinese lunar cycle. According to some things I have read on Rat people, perhaps Tina’s charm, passion, and charisma is due to the characteristics of her Chinese zodiac sign. I’d rather like to think it’s because of me and what I’ve taught her but perhaps it’s also due to the influences of the lunar calendar. So the beginning of this post begins with a pass at the Chinese New Year, today being the start of the Year of the Rat.

I really should be discussing my son, Tony, not my daughter. Today is Tony’s 26th birthday! He’s anything but a rat. He was actually born in the Chinese lunar year ruled by the Dog and some of the characteristics he shares with other Dogs include loyalty, patience, intelligence, and straight forwardness.

Tony is usually very thoughtful. In fact he is thoughtful to a fault, if you can imagine that. He will often put other’s needs and feelings before his own. That’s what I mean. Even when it means that he ignores his own wants and needs, he puts others first. I think that’s pretty special. Sometimes I wish he would learn to be a little different in that respect, but Tony is Tony and to me, he’s quite perfect.

Tony has a wonderful sense of humor. He can have any group of people laughing in no time. He can also turn almost any situation into one where the humor shows through. When he was in college, Tony took a stand up comedy class. He’s great with “voices” in that he can imitate a number of accents and dialects to perfection. Yes, not always politically correct, but hey! It’s funny! (He’s respectful of other’s feelings and wouldn’t insult anyone in earshot.) He got a great evaluation from classmates and from the instructor. (Oh, he took it as part of his program requirements of taking an acting class. As a film student, they were required to take acting so they could get that side of the film process. The Stand Up Comedy class was an option within the Acting section.) He has always been quite adept at entertaining people. I remember when he was almost two and we went to visit my then brother-in-law’s parents. There was a huge group of us in the living room and Tony took over. He was able to figure out what was entertaining to the grown ups and he proceeded to entertain. He went around offering everyone things, like water and cookies and some candy from a dish on the table. He was the perfect little host in a place he had never been and in front of a group he had never met.

Tony is a pretty neat guy. To me, he’s unique. He has been a wonderful big brother to his two sisters and a thoughtful son to me. He has helped all of us when we have needed him, emotionally and physically. He rarely asks for anything in return and is ready to accept anything with which he is gifted, or nothing at all. He has an innate understanding. In fact, I do remember that when he was a baby, a newborn, he had this look of understanding. When he was days old, he developed colic and as he cried, I spoke to him trying to soothe him. I would coo to him about how I wished I could do something to help him feel better but the doctor hadn’t called me back. I explained to him that I would get him relief from the pain as soon as I could. I assured him that I would take care of him and that I loved him very much and wouldn’t ever let anything hurt him. He looked at me with understanding and seemed to be satisfied that there was a reason for his pain and that it would be over soon. Even then, as a newborn, Tony was looking out for my feelings!

I could go on for pages and pages and pages about Tony but I think he will shine through in previous and future posts.

Happy Birthday, Tony!