for my sister and her fiancé, who often (but still too infrequently, in my opinion) allow themselves to be bribed---by the prospect of free laundry---into crossing state lines to grace us with their company.

who else would bring the baby, as a souvenir from their trip to europe, a dog toy known as "italy's most famous latex pig" (the jingle for which---sono il solo! gru grugnino! sono il tuo! maialino!---is destined to be stuck in my head for, oh, approximately ever)? who else would break into our house when i somehow lost my key in a parking lot 30 miles from home, slithering elegantly through the porch window? no one, that's who. 

*

for my grandparents, who greeted roo's arrival with more joy than i dared hope they might and who are clearly delighted by him whenever we visit. we had a tough go of it, for a little while, when i came out to them back in 2001; back then it seemed impossible that they could ever come accept me as i was---a gay person---let alone accept the possibility that i might marry and have a family. but so much has changed since then, and i am grateful to them for deciding, no matter what they might still believe about the morality of my "lifestyle," to love me (and us) anyway.