It may come as a surprise to you, but I like animals, especially dogs and cats.

When I was a child, our family at that time took care of the "end" of our dog and cat, who were like family members.

I knew the phenomenon of "crying so hard you spit up blood" from Miyuki Nakajima's song, but I was honestly surprised to learn that "it was in me.

When my parents died, I did not grieve as much.

My father said the same thing when my grandmother died.

I thought, 'We are Parents and children.'

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After all, at my parents' funeral, I even joined my relatives at the wake and laughed at their memories of the deceased -- both my father and mother had a life full of stories.

Me: "Well, a wake is a lot of fun because there are hidden stories (quite amazing stories) about the deceased that the children don't know."

Wife: "No, I don't. I think 'your parent's life is just too peculiar.'"

Me: "Really?"

Aside from that.

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I still vividly remember the death of my pet, and after that, I couldn't bring myself to get a dog or cat.

Still, I was willing to 'give in' and allow my daughters to own it if desired.

I was expecting to walk with my daughter with the dog in her arms at sunset and say the classic line, "You're going to have to take care of him all by yourself" --

Daughter: "I want to keep a dog, but it is too much trouble to walk and feed it, so I want (me) to do it. So, please take care of it."

Thus, my daughter said such dumb things, and naturally, I kicked her proposal.