Flying My Freak Flag

Today I am flying my freak flag for you all...

My cat had a sex change operation.  It is true.  From the moment I got Simon, I knew he wanted to be a girl.  I kid!

Before you go off and call the crazy bus on me, let me explain.  Yes, my cat had a sex change operation.  No, he didn’t “want” to be a girl.  He had horrendous health problems as a kitten and the vet recommended this surgery to help ease his chronic blocked bladder that would ultimately kill him if it was not corrected.  A cut here, a snip there, and Simon was officially Simone.

Around the time he became a she, I was shopping for a cat carrier.  I was choosing between the only two options on the shelf…

                      

I contemplated for a little while and decided since my cat was a girl now, I could buy the pink one.  I excitedly purchased it, loaded it in the car, drove home and showed it to my husband.  Oops!  He was NOT amused!  We had a bit of a disagreement that went something like this:

He said, “Our cat will not be a cross dresser.  Simone’s chromosomes are still male.  The pink carrier is just taking this whole thing too far.”  (Although I was getting a bit frustrated with his attitude about this, I thought it was pretty cute he was trying to hang on to Simone’s manhood)

I said, “Really?!?!  The actual amputation of the penis wasn’t taking it too far?”

He moved on with his argument, “I have to carry the carrier too and I don’t want it to be pink.”

Aha!  The real reason he was upset was surfacing!  Good thing this conversation happened.  Years later, when we were discussing the stroller for L, I recognized the fact he didn’t want to be strolling around town with a pink stroller.  I respected that and we went with a gender-neutral stroller. 

The color was the least of our worries when purchasing a stroller.  It is a BIG decision!  You really need to evaluate your lifestyle to figure out which one is best for you.  I will share with you what we did as an option, but I am not forcing it upon you.  Staying with my theme “Keeping it Simple,” we decided not to do a big travel system. 

We registered for the Bob jogging stroller and have been really pleased with it! 

It maneuvers smoothly and folds up in one easy step.  However, it is pretty heavy and bulky.  To solve this problem, we also got the Snap n Go for me to run quick errands and for air travel.  If you decide to get a Snap N' Go, make sure that the car seat you decide on fits into it.

I HIGHLY recommend both products.  We have been pleased with them and haven’t felt like we missed out by not having a travel system.

Other moms out here…what do you suggest?