Saturday, December 5, 2009

Kids and Pets Are SO Alike!


As I was vacuuming for what seemed the millionth time (with five cats and one dog, there is always fur on the carpet and I can only stand it so long) and ran the vacuum over yet another faint stain (barf; courtesy of Lucy the other morning), I got to thinking how, when you sign on to have pets, you just can't expect to have a perfectly clean house. This led me down the path to the similarities between having pets and having children (it seems to me; since I don't have children, I can only surmise). Such as:
1. You're gonna have messes. Puke, pee, poop, spilled food and drink, etc.; and said messes will likely leave behind a few stains. Get used to it, or, you'll just go crazy.
2. They're gonna get sick; which will likely led to a lot of #1. Puke is especially bad; poor Clyde left several reminders of his existence on our carpet (faint as they are); and ask my mom how much fun it was to get my brother Nathaniel's purple Kool-Aid puke stain out of our carpet on Risa Court!
3. You may as well open up your wallet and hand your credit card over to the doctor/vet so they can a) take care of your loved ones and b) buy their next BMW.
4. They will get into all sorts of mischief when you are not paying attention. Shredding toilet paper and pulling Kleenex out of boxes appears to be a favorite past time of both young pets and young children!
5. Houses need to be both kid and pet proofed, with particular attention given to anything electrical. Although pets don't stick their fingers (or keys...NATHANIEL!) into light sockets like children might, they do tend to chew through electrical cords.
6. They have a fascination for opening anything you want closed. Doors, cabinets, trash cans, toilets; etc.
7. If you have more than one, they WILL fight; but, they'll also cuddle and love on one another, too.
8. They are sometimes planned and sometimes not but you love them all just the same (although, if you are honest, you may favor one over another).

9. Watching their antics can provide countless hours of amusement, amazement, entertainment and enjoyment.
10. Even though you look forward to time away from them, you think about them/worry about them/miss them constantly while you are gone.
11. They can irritate the heck out of you one minute and then turn around and melt your heart the next. And, if anything bad happens to them, get ready for your heart to simply break.
Mrs. B

3 comments:

Analee said...

i agree with all except #8. #8 applies to pets. with kids, it is just different. you love them the same, and equally as much.

like:
your favorite meat may be pork roast but your favorite pie may be chocolate.
if you had to choose between the two, you really couldn't because they are so totally different in taste and texture, you just can't compare them! (apples and oranges...)

with cats, though (in the past), i always had a favorite. bo. :) willow was sweet and cute, but bo was my favorite. before that, it was jackson.

but with kids, they are just SO different. boy vs girl. older vs younger. articulate vs playful. i'm sure even with twins they are very different.

no, really, what am i saying? katelyn is my mom's favorite.

i suppose i can just speak for myself. (but i'm with ya 100% that it is impossible to keep your house clean with any pets or kids!!! IMPOSSIBLE!!!)

Margot said...

Adorable picture of Lucy!

The number of your cats, Amy, was certainly not planned. Like a ... hmm hmm... that failed, you (& Mark) just fell into it.

Analee said...

its the unplanned ones that are the best, right? ask your mom. (and my mom.)