Thursday, July 30, 2015

Seriously Sirius?

I may never go upstairs again. Nope, never. At least not into my daughter's room upstairs.  That's because she is now the proud owner of a rodent for a pet. Yup, we bought her a hamster.   It all happened so fast and my guard was down and well, now a little fuzzy, black, rat-looking rodent sleeps in a cage next to my daughter's bed. She named him Sirius Black after the Harry Potter character.  

All I can do is scratch my head and ask Seriously, Sirius? 




I hate hamsters. I hate chipmunks and mice and squirrels and rats and raccoons and ahhhhhh! I don't wish these creatures any ill will, I just choose to not ever be in the same space with them outside or inside.  That goes for birds too. And deer. And even the dog that lives down the street.  I'm not really an animal lover or a nature lover (like I've said before, I support nature I just don't love being in it).  

A few weeks ago Lucy wrote me a letter asking for a hamster. She detailed all the good work she'd done over the past 11 years.  She made hefty, yet seemingly realistic, promises like "If I get a hamster I'll keep my room clean for two weeks."

Maybe I was feeling guilty because Lucy goes to 5 million baseball games of her brothers and really doesn't like sports.  Maybe I was still tired from our month of traveling.  Maybe I was overheated from my crazy hormones and the 90-degree weather we are finally having here in Michigan.  Maybe I was too busy reading about Ben and Jen's break-up and hoping the nanny rumors weren't true.  Whatever it was, I said "okay" without really looking up when Tim said that he and Lucy were going to the pet store to pick up a hamster.  Okay? What the hell was I thinking?

This non animal/nature loving person now has two dogs, two fish and a fucking hamster in the house.  What is going on? I mean what the seriously Sirius hell is happening?

I have to hand it to Lucy and her tween brilliance.  It's like she knew-- if I get this hamster, mom will be so afraid to come in my room, she just won't. I win. I beat mom. And I got a hamster. Boosh.

I love my daughter, but I detect some tween smugness in this picture don't you?

What she doesn't know is that my desire to figure her out and not let her get away with any tween/teen tomfoolery is bigger than my fear of the fuzzy, black, rat-looking rodent that sleeps in a cage next to her bed.  For now, I'll let her think she's won. When she grows up I will tell her about all the sacrifices I made and fears I conquered to protect her. 


The boys were getting a kick out of the rodent
and out of my fear of it.

While the kids and Tim were setting up the rodent's cage/home, I was reading all about the little guy. It turns out hamsters only live about two years.  I can do two years, I think. Right? 

But I will never, ever clean the cage. Ever. I mean seriously.


2 comments:

  1. I loved our last hamster a lot. She was so sweet and soft. I'm sorry you do not like them. But yay for Lucy? ;D It'll be okay. And she'll always remember that you let her get one.

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  2. I cannot handle another animal in the house. We've talked about a puppy, and I would love to have a puppy, but I can't take another living being until these damn cats are gone. I don't even want the responsibility of a fish, much less a furry hamster that my kids are SURE to let out of the cage so it can get lost in the house.

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