At Least It Wasn't A Gerbil
Yesterday Meredith Viera wrote a great post about pets, and how they change the tenor of a space, helping to make a house into a home. It was a particularly timely post for me, because this weekend, I finally broke down and bought The Ladies their very first pet.
I'm a cat person. I remember getting my first cat, Muffin, when I was just a little bit older than Regan is now. She was a great cat, a quirky stray who was a charming combination of goofy and vicious. I remember dressing her up in doll clothes, pushing her in my buggy, sharing my Smarties with her, and watching her terrorize the neighbours' dog. She liked to fight raindrops and pencils, was afraid of paper, and forced my dad to shoo her off his chair every dinnertime of her entire life. I adored that cat; having her around enriched my childhood immensely. I loved the cats we had after Muffin--a pair of Siamese who were quirky in their own ways--but I think there's something special about your first pet.
I'd always intended for The Ladies to have a pet, but somehow we'd just never gotten around to it. Too small apartments, not enough money, and the general stressors of keeping the human members of the family thriving all conspired against adding a furry member to our family, and we've remained petless. When Sabrina was a baby, it wasn't much of an issue, but as she's gotten older, our petless state has become an ongoing issue.
At nearly 8, she's old enough to be trotting out all of the standard arguements: "I'll feed it and take it for walks!" "I'll clean up after it!" "It doesn't have to be a kitten (even though that's what I really want). I'd be happy with a hamster." Me? I've hung tough on the standard mom position of "I have enough to do keeping the two of you alive. And with the Shaolin Toddler still untrained, our apartment is too small to be adding more poop."
On Saturday, we went to Old Navy so that I could look at work clothes. The PetSmart is right next door. We went in to coo over the kittens as a reward for their good behaviour in the changeroom. We left with Princess Sparklefairy, our brand new Siamese Fighting Fish.
It wasn't the hamster Diva Girl had lobbied for, or the skinny pig that I secretly found pretty cool, but it's a pet of their very own, and that seems to be enough for The Ladies. They are absolutely enamoured with their pet, greeting her in the morining, feeding her together, spending long minutes just watching her do her fishy things in the bowl. She may not be cuddly, but she's theirs, and they are thrilled with their newfound responsibilities.
Comments
that was fantastic, you had me thinking it was a kitten right to the end!! Congratulations, I have never been without a pet and now we are developing a menagerie two cats, four rabbits, a mouse and a puppy as soon as it is old enough to leave its mum!
The kids adore them and although sometimes they forget to care for them, I am realising that they love them and would be lost without their little fuzzy buddy's
That's great, Kim! I have a Siamese fighter myself on my desk to keep me entertained while I write. They can be pretty funny little creatures--much more interesting than other fish. Unfortunately, if the Siamese fighting fish you bought has large, flamboyant fins (most of the ones in pet stores do), then it's a boy. Shhh! I won't tell. :D
Cousin Shannah(15) bought 'Squishy' the goldfish last March. I expected him to last 2 days, but he is still thriving. A great investment for 27¢! Enjoy.
Yeah, I know the Princess is really a prince Shayna. Let's just say it's the last time I'll allow my more whimsical nature take over when it comes to suggesting the name for the pet :)
27 cents? Sheesh. Sparklefairy cost me four bucks!!! Sixteen if you add in all his stuff! Oh well, listening to Regan come home and tell him all about trick or treating was worth way more than that. It was priceless.
