A girl and her mouse

     I just came back from watching a ballet performance. It was in my daughter's bedroom and it involved a mouse.  My youngest has tremendous love for all things furry, feathered, four-legged, and even creepy crawly.  This may have something to do with the fact that we had two litters of kittens when she was barely a toddler. Since they were the only things in the house smaller than she was, she naturally assumed they were her responsibility to raise. Unfortunately, they grew, and eventually got too big and too fast for her pudgy little arms to capture anymore. Occasionally, she can still pin them down and they submit to a quick cuddle. Our dog outgrew her grasp just as quickly, but they still snuggle, play and roll around on the floor together. Last year we had chicks for a few months and she played with them as if they were any typical house pet, cuddling during movies and taking them outside to play. Her particular little chick was so attached that she followed her all over yard, chirping loudly anytime my daughter was out of her sight.

      She doesn't just love animals. She also loves bugs. She loves them all, except spiders and roaches. In fact, there is a plastic cup full of dead leaves sitting next to me right now that was home to some sort of small beetle. I'm sure the bug is long gone by now since there is no lid on the plastic cup. She has fallen in love with many an "adorable" little worm and our backyard is filled with buckets, cups and cardboard boxes that have housed any number of different six legged creatures. There are also countless frogs, tadpoles, and lizards she's housed and loved, over the years.

     Her newest pet is Blondie, the mouse. Blondie, it seems, doesn't mind a life of constant handling and attention and is very content to be unendingly nurtured. Blondie is hers alone, and will never outgrow my daughter's ability to pick her up.  She plays with her in her doll house, reads her bedtime stories, snuggles her and feeds her treats out of her hand.  Blondie rolls all over the house in her little ball and has gotten quite good at maneuvering it wherever she wants to go, which is usually the kitchen. Then, there was the ballet performance that they spent lots of time practicing for. My daughter gracefully twirled and leapt, all with a mouse crawling up and down various parts of her body. She balanced her on her hand. She balanced her on her leg. She even balanced her on her head. 

Blondie seems happy and needless to say,  my daughter is too.