Monday, September 28, 2009

Animal Instincts

Delight: This moment ...


... and others like it during Homeschool Day at SeaWorld San Antonio. A half day of educational experiences for $8 each. No rides, but no lines. No shops or cafés to set off a round of gimme gimmes. No rain until the last few minutes. Yes Shamu. Perfect.


Bemusement: We have a new pet hamster bequeathed to us from next door. Goes by the name of Nufe (long story). Will this turn out to be the beginning of happy family memories or an example of parental indulgence gone horribly wrong? I wonder.


Outrage: During a visit to PetSmart for Ian to buy Nufe a water bottle with his lawnmowing money, I discovered something that made me break out in spontaneous hives. Almost literally. Here it is: In a world where millions of people go to bed hungry every night, where even coffee growers blessed by the Fair Trade program make $2.75 PER DAY to feed their families, there are people buying Halloween costumes for their dogs. Am I being judgmental here? You bet. My jaw hung so far open that my family had to follow me out the door on a tidal wave of slobber. End of story.


3 comments:

Eclectic Mama said...

Oh great. Do you have any idea how long it took me to get the kids to stop asking for pet chickens after they fell in love with yours? Now a cute little fluffy hamster. What are you trying to do to me? And just when I thought we were rodent free for life ...

Era said...

I take it Nufe won't be getting a costume this year? :)

Beck said...

I can go either way in the dogs in Halloween costume department - on the one hand, REALLY? You had nothing better to do with your money? And on the other, it IS pretty funny. The dogs at my husband's work have a large (and necessary - it's cold here and they're fragile) wardrobe and they spread joy wherever they go. That counts, right?

iCarly is a tweenager show and probably the best of the lot. http://www.icarly.ca/ It's pretty anarchic and crazy but is actually pretty sweet and innocent at heart - a nice combination for kids who want to feel older.