When I was going through my days of infertility. I carried around a picture from the Pottery Barn Kids catalog. It was of a little girl about two years old. She was in a comfy rocking chair looking at a book in her beautiful pink room. The picture was my hope. One day, I knew I would have my child. I already named her Sophia. I carried that picture around with me for more than five years. It was only when the ultrasound tech said "It's a boy!" and "It's another boy!" that I stopped carrying it.
To be completely honest, I was a little sad. I was so desperate to have a child, and I was ecstatic to have been blessed with two. However, I also knew this was my only chance to conceive, and now I would never have my little Sophia. I would never get to hold this cutie that I had imagined for five years. I eventually let it go and moved on, even though, secretly, I still had a vision of our family with a girl in it. Sometimes, I had dreams of the doorbell ringing and seeing a swaddled pink baby girl in a basket on it, like in the story books.
As it turned out, having my boys really was the best plan of all. God always knows more than you, right? Since the minute they were born, I knew I was a “boy mom”. Cars, superheroes, frogs and rocks. I have loved every minute of it. I also know I didn't really want to play tea party, dress up or Barbie. Yes, I am a boy mom. It was meant to be.
I must admit though, there are moments I wish I had a little estrogen in this house. Even my dog King was a boy!
After King died, I searched shelters and Petfinder.com for a (female) replacement. It has been hard because he was such a great dog. Every dog that popped up on my screen seemed subpar for some reason or other. I could tell, it was just not the right time yet for a replacement dog.
Michael suggested getting the boys a bird for their birthday. What! A bird? Yuck! I told him I eventually wanted a dog, not a bird. If he was going to get a bird, he would have to deal with it once we got it home. He said he had two parakeets when he was little and they were fun. He also said they were a great gift for seven-year-olds. Responsibility, blah blah, good for the, blah blah... I stopped listening after responsibility because birds are weird...
Reluctantly, I went to our local chain pet store and looked around. The parakeets were cute but they were still just dumb birds. Whatever. The next couple of days, we researched parakeets online. Or should I say Michael researched. Parakeets, parakeets, parakeets was all I heard for two weeks. Finally, the day before their seventh birthday, I texted my friend who has three parakeets and asked her for some advice. She said to go to a locally-owned pet store that she used, instead of a chain, and they would take the time to teach us about birds.
So off we went, me, Michael and the boys! Everyone was in a buzz with the excitement of a new pet! Michael was the most excited. It was cute to see him excited. He is such a great dad. We walked in and the girl who worked there was nice but said that she only had two parakeets. One was mean and the other one just came in, so she didn’t know what he was like yet.
Um, oooookkkkkaayyy.....
She said she had a cockatiel and a love bird and both of them would make great pets.
First I longed for a girl baby and I got two boys. Now I thought I was getting a parakeet and they offer me a cockatiel or a lovebird. What is it that they say? The best way to make God laugh is to make plans. Or something like that...
So, we took the lovebird out of the cage and we instantly fell in love with her. Our new little girl. Guess what we named her? Yep! You got it! Sophia! Funny name for a bird, but after waiting twelve years, I deserved it.
Even funnier, when I asked the girl at the pet store if it was a boy or girl, she said the only way to tell is through genetic testing. So, needless to say, we just made her a girl. Ha! She is pretty. Too pretty to be a boy. Right?
A sure sign that it was meant to be is that she was born on my birthday this year. She is only three months old!
We had considered getting a pair of birds, so they could hang out together. But it turns out that lovebirds actually don't love other lovebirds! The girl told us that they fight and won't bond with the family if we got two. That’s okay. I can be her companion instead of another bird. I think I love her most of all.
She now sits next to me as I write.
She's quiet and sweet. She just kind of hangs out. Best of all she fills the silent stillness in the house that King left behind. That silence was killing me. Now, it's filled with chirps and peeps instead of barks.
Here are a couple of videos of our new little girl! I’ll let you know how she (and we) adjust to her new environment!
Since Rocco was two, he has always wanted to just hold a bird. He has tried hundreds of times to grab a random duck or sparrow. But this is the first time he actually got to hold one! Pure joy! Michael was right, this was a good idea!
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment