Li'l Llama Watch

Still no official news on the name of Steve the Llama Butcher v.4.0.

I am deriving no end of enjoyment imagining the scene around the Casa de Llamas.

Steve-O: But Honeeeeey! What's wrong with "Alexander Tecumseh Fusco Llama"?

Mrs. Steve-O: Stephen!

Heh, indeed.

I've also been mulling the dynamics of the introductin of Child Number 4 into a household. I know that new parents like Brian B. will find this hard to believe, but in many ways an only child is relatively easy to deal with. You always outnumber him and can either double-team, when appropriate, or else spell each other.*

The introduction of a second child means that you have to adjust. It's now man-to-man coverage. It's approximately a couple of months into this new arrangement that you suddenly realize how easy one was to deal with.

When the third child comes along, it gets even more lively. You have to force yourselves to switch from man-to-man to zone defense, all the while keeping an eye open to make sure one of them doesn't find the seam and go deep.

With four? Well, I can only imagine. Now they double-team you. I think Steve and the Missus will have to adopt a kind of hybrid man/zone coverage, playing deep, focusing on the most potent threats and letting the little llamas have those short yardage underneath plays.

Should be quite a game.

* I can hear the Butcher's Wife shrieking with disbelieving laughter even from here at all my talk about joint child-rearing responsibilities. Kudos where they are due: she does about 90% of the day-to-day heavy lifting in our family and always has. She is, in fact, the Zack Thomas of our domestic defense and I haven't the faintest idea how I'd survive in the world without her.