A Tuna Party and an Angry Birds Party

I posted an interview with Dan Masucci about his film, DxOne. DxOne tells his family’s story about living with type 1 diabetes. I loved Dan’s answers, and I encourage you to take a look at the interview and learn more about his film.

Now, on a totally different subject… it’s time to talk about parties – cat parties and kid parties.

1.Tuna Party

Tuna Parties haven’t really been the same since our cat Zoe passed away four years ago. She was the queen cat in our brood of three, and reigned with a heavy paw. She was lofty, and never sat on the floor. In fact, she was always on a higher surface than the other cats. If our black cat was on the study chair, then Zoe was on the desk. If her son, Bougie, jumped onto the kitchen counter, then she’d jump onto the hood above the stovetop. Everyone was beneath her, except when it came to tuna. Tuna parties were the only occasions for which Zoe would come down and join the others.

Zoe was always the first in the house to detect the opening of a tuna can. She had a dainty mew, waited somewhat patiently for her fish, and it was always a pleasure to serve her. She ate neatly and when she was done she licked her paws and washed her face. Four years after Zoe’s death, I still can’t throw a tuna party without missing her.

March 10th was Bougie’s twelfth birthday. It was a busy day, but I didn’t want to let it pass without a proper celebration. Just before putting the kids to bed I grabbed a plastic bag and put it on the floor. My plan, which I thought was brilliant at the time, was to feed the cats tuna on a big plastic bag and then just wad it up and throw it out. No mess to clean.

Mike, the kids, and even my mother-in-law were present for the party. We sang a bunch of birthday songs and tried to keep the dog away from the party. (Poor dog!) The cats dined, and everything seemed good, until… I realized that slowly but surely the cats were making their way onto the plastic bag/tuna platter. What that meant was tuna paws. Tuna paws equals tuna footprints. The moral of this story, then, is not to be lazy when it comes to feeding your cats tuna. Use a real dish, even if it means you have to wash it. And this relates to diabetes because it’s that same kind of laziness that gets me into diabetes trouble. This is me telling myself not to try to skip steps. It almost always ends up creating more work.

2. Angry Birds Party

Guy’s ninth birthday is Friday and we are planning to celebrate with an Angry Birds party. He loves Angry Birds! Loves them! I bought cardboard building blocks to make little stands for the pigs (I don’t have pigs yet. Any ideas on how to make some?) I’m planning to use an exercise resistance band as a slingshot. We’ve got some Angry Birds party supplies. And we printed Angry Birds coloring pages which we’re going to use as decorations. I think I’m ready for this. I think so.

Jessica Apple

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Jessica Apple

Jessica Apple grew up in Houston. She studied Bible and Ancient Near Eastern Studies at the University of Michigan, and completed an MA in the same field at the Hebrew University. She began to write and publish short stories while a student, and continues to write essays and fiction while raising her three sons (and many pets). Jessica’s work has appeared in The New York Times Magazine, The Financial Times Magazine, The Southern Review, The Bellevue Literary Review, Tablet Magazine, and elsewhere. She is the diabetes correspondent for The Faster Times. In 2009 she and her husband, both type 1 diabetics, founded A Sweet Life, where she serves as editor-in-chief. Jessica loves spending time with her sons, cooking with her husband, playing with her cats, reading, biking, drinking coffee, and whenever possible, taking a nap. Follow Jessica on Twitter (@jessapple)