For Sale - Cheep

We've adopted a new pet.... well, it's more like we've been adopted by a forlorn robin. For the past month, our friendly neighborhood wanna-be rooster has been crashing into Mom and Dad's bedroom window almost every day starting at 6:15am. And not just a "Whoops, excuse me," kind of bump. These are head-banging, beak-rattling, monster truck collisions that happen 3 or 4 times in a row until Dodo (appropriately named, don't ya think) loses his momentum and flies back to his perch on the fence post 4 feet away. He huffs and puffs and tries again. And again. And again.

The first two days we felt sorry for the guy. He must have been scared of his reflection. But after one morning of 200-300 mid-air collisions with himself, he lost all sympathy on this side of the window. Kyra laughs hysterically each time he flattens himself up against the glass, leaving smears and feathers behind to mark his short-lived victory.

By the third day, we could barely see out the top half of the window because it was so dirty. The kids put up pictures of cats, owls, snakes, and a green witch (going for the scare tactic). Dodo really didn't care. Even with a huge cobra staring him in the face he came back for more humiliation and beak squashing. Shiny foil didn't do squat, and surprisingly, the pink striped pajama pants made him even more agitated. Who knew? One week after first crashing (into) our party he started snooping around other windows, pecking until someone bangs back and scares him away.

After four weeks in this one-sided relationship, we would prefer that Dodo find a cute little chick to call his own (in another yard) instead of repeatedly ramming our house every 3-4 minutes. Feathers stuck to the window are not helping beautify the view of our neighbor's dining room. The fowl is in obviously bird-brained and if he wants to self-inflict brain damage, it is his right to do so. If you'd like to trade any of your indigenous wildlife for this misguided woodpecker who is determined to take himself out of the gene pool, the only request we have is that our new pets be a slightly more intelligent species than those that currently surround us.

Seven years ago.....

... we had a perfect morning, afternoon and evening.
... the grandma came over to play with 3 granddaughters all morning long instead of paying bills.
... the cutest baby in the world decided giggling was more important than eating (3 times in a row).
... the daddy got home from his residency an hour early "just because."
... two big sisters helped tuck their baby bug in for a nap and sang her to sleep.
... the mommy made a three-course dinner and everything turned out deliciously delectable.
... the daddy put two big sisters to bed.
... the mommy went in to get the baby bug out of bed.
... it was the longest night of our lives.

We took some butterflies, ceramic bunnies and a couple wind chimes up to the cemetery today. The two dozen daffodils we planted 6 years ago have multiplied so much the kids were sure a few of them were silk. They were all in perfect bloom - just the right backdrop for the two deer and handful of rabbits that were munching on graveside flowers this afternoon.

Alexis threw her mini-parachute into a tree and another family lent us a shovel to get it down. Their 4 year-old died last fall... there are so many common bonds with too many other families.

I would never wish our experiences on anyone else (even those nasty girls in 6th grade), but I can't imagine our lives any other way. Megan couldn't stay - we know that. The bittersweet memories and emptiness still sting, but not quite as much now as in the first 5 or 6 years. The sweet parts of life are so much more precious since we know how the alternative feels. Being able to recognize our guardian angel when she pops in is amazing. Little things like being able to kiss a scraped knee or fix a botched haircut (a la scissor-wielding siblings) or tuck in another baby bug with a song and a snuggle aren't taken for granted as often. Even brain tumors can be laughed at because we're all still here figuring out whatever we're supposed to learn from this life lesson. It will be great to get the report card at graduation and find out what we're actually being graded on.

But for now, it would be nice if some of the experiences weren't quite so piercing...

especially on days like today.