"Do not go where the path may lead. Go instead where there is no path and leave a trail."

Tuesday, April 07, 2009

Life and Death

This is Bailey, the newest addition to our menagerie. She is a dumbo rat, and has so far been a sweet and curious girl.



Last week, we said goodbye to Miley, the rat that started it all. She showed us what wonderful pets that rats make, and she laid the path that saw us buying (so far) 5 more. She was nearly four years old, and she went peacefully in her sleep, just one day after I noticed that she seemed to be declining.

I recently heard someone say that she didn't want to buy her 4 year old a pet, because she didn't want her to be sad when the pet eventually (and inevitably) died. Pets do die. And the all-too-painful reality is that people die too. But learning about death also means learning about life. It is precious, and fleeting, and can only be appreciated and understood if you actually let yourself live it, rats and all.




1 comment:

Mitch said...

Tru dat. Everything/everyone dies. Hard thing to grasp when you are a child. I don't think it fully "sinks in" for years. I could be wrong.

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