no room at the inn

This is an actual conversation that occurred about fifteen seconds ago between me and Boy number four.

“Mom, I should get a hamster!” he declared (and quite seriously, I might add.)

“What?!?” I’m about ready to clean my ears out to make sure I heard him right. “What would you do with a hamster?”

“I’d put him in a cage, then I’d put it outside.” (That’s more like it!)

“Why do you want a hamster?” I had to ask.

“Cause I just like them,” he justified. “I always want a hamster.” And he looked at me like he somehow just deserved to get one.

This, coming from a three-year-old who is barely out of diapers, but who has somehow managed to pick up the begging lingo enough to insist he’s always wanted something. As if that’s enough of a reason to get anything, let alone a smelly little rodent.

I will really worry if he starts praying for one at bedtime, instead of the normal thanking God for supper, lunch and snacks. (Food is a big focus around here - both at prayer time and pretty much any other time. Like I would need another mouth to feed around here, even if it is a hamster.)

Bear in mind that I am not an animal person. The thought of an animal (with the possible exception of a fish) in the house gives me the willies. There isn’t room, for one thing, not to mention that four boys are dirty enough. The only upside I could see would be a built-in vacuum cleaner for all the food that gets dropped on the floor at every meal, even snack time.

Boy #4 isn’t the first to show tendencies towards animal-loving, but he is the first to ask for a pet. The other boys have been a bit scared of dogs and considered cats a bit of a nuisance. Number two has a soft side for rabbits, but not enough that he’d ask for one as a pet. (I think he learned his lesson when it became his job to feed the baby chicks every day - animals are work!) Number three was the main reason why Mom got a beta fish for Mother’s Day a few years ago and he still finds that incredibly funny. Number one is allergic to both dogs and cats and wants no part of sneezing constantly.

This one has already asked to get a dog.

That, I blame on my sister-in-law, who got a cute, fluffy dog (no bigger than a cat) and somehow impressed upon him that having a dog was a good idea. That, coupled with the fact that he idolizes his cousin, Lexi, makes him extremely susceptible to persuasion in the matter of pets. I think there might have been some monkey business involved there, but I can’t prove it.

I simply tell him, if he wants a dog, he can visit his cousin and his aunt and their dog Bella any time he wants. Soon, I will ask that they put him on pooper scooper duty and that should do the trick.

This chicken still has a little say-so in this roost. If it ever comes to it, thankfully God has provided us with plenty of land out here - for an “outside” dog.

But, hubby was just talking about goats....