“keep your mouth shut. Keep your Mouth shut. KEEP YOUR MOUTH SHUUUUUUT” That was my mental affirmation as I entered Petsmart with my daughter, Eva, 
and her 9th birthday entourage. We were at the pet store for her to pick out a new pet. Apparently, a Barbie doll wasn’t going to cut it at age 9. The plan was for Eva and her friends to pick out the perfect pet and I didn’t get a say. Well, if I was a dog, my ears would have perked up as we entered the fish isle. This was my department. Fish don’t pee on the carpet. They don’t get their food all over the floor. And they don’t scratch the door just because I’m too slow at letting them in. FISH ARE THE PERFECT PETS! As I was about to point out a beautiful, flowy blue
one, I saw Eva jet past me toward the reptile section. And her eyes stopped at the turtles. They became wide with enthusiasm. As if, “Mom, I have found my pet!!!” were about to come flying off her lips. My mind went instantly back to a conversation I had with a friend who said, “no matter what you do, don’t let her get a turtle. They live for 40 years!” So in 40 years, Eva will have gone off to college, traveled the world, married the love of her life and given birth to children all her own… and I will still be taking care of the damn turtle she got for her 9th birthday. NO…THANK…YOU!!! So when she headed to the hamster world, I was more than relieved. She considered a few of the normal $4.99 ones but ended up with a Fancy Russian hamster at $12.99. I figured the extra expense of a “fancy” hamster outweighed the future costs of a turtle that just might out live me. So off we went with a hamster, hamseter hamlet, alpine shavings and hamster food. Since the introduction of Baby Bella, we now live in a house where the number of pets equal the number of humans. So why do I feel so outnumbered???
About Wendy D
