My daughter has always been an animal lover. She was to blame when we adopted a golden retriever when I was pregnant with my third child and had no right trying to take on another thing.
I should mention my (then) husband had been working on me to get a dog for years, but with a one-year-old, a two-year-old, and another on the way it felt like too much–we all know moms do the heavy lifting when it comes to pets.
But, when my daughter laid eyes on the sweet dog and crawled over to it I could feel their hearts intertwining. When I called my now ex-husband to say I’d changed my mind, and yes, we should definitely get a dog as long as it was this particular one, he was beyond shocked.
I’m so happy I said yes to a dog
There wasn’t a day that went by when my Anna didn’t spend quality time with our dog, Eve. They slept together, played together, and Eve was a bit chunky thanks to her best friend who slid her more snacks than a dog should have, ever.
For the past year or so, Anna has been asking for ducks. My phone blows up a few times a week with cute Pinterest and Instagram videos of little ducklings swimming in sinks and kiddie pools. My answer has always been the same–a big fat, “No, honey.”
As a single mom to three teens, I feel like I just don’t have space to take on (or oversee) one more task. She is old enough to take care of the ducks but I knew a lot of the responsibility might fall on me. I love the cute birds, but I didn’t feel like raising them, worrying they’d be taken away in the night by a coyote, or trying to figure out how to scoop up duck poop.
But, one text from my daughter changed all that and made all those cons fade away: A few weeks ago she was up in her room giving me my weekly dose of cuteness via duck videos and pictures and said, “Mom, please. I’m just so lonely and I know it will make me feel better to take care of something.”
Why I let my daughter get ducks
It made me take pause and really think about why this might be the perfect time to raise ducks. A few days later, she told me the local farm supply store had little ducklings in and we could pay for them on line, and they’d deliver them to us in our car. She’d done her homemore and I caved in, all the way.
How could I argue with that? Exactly two days later we were in front of the store and were handed a package which resembled a Minchkin box with two fuzzy, yellow ducks.
That was three weeks ago and I haven’t regretted my decision once. Not only is she diligent while caring for them–they get VIP treatment everyday including baths, fresh lettuce, and a clean house to live in and best of all, my daughter is so happy.
She puts them in the kiddie pool and sits outside while doing school work. She’s had a great time making diapers for them (I know!) and has done so much research about ducks, I told her she should see if she can write a paper on caring for ducks for her science class.
She takes them for walks around the yard and it’s the sweetest sight I’ve ever seen. Who knew ducks follow you around and wagging their tails?
Her brothers have also gotten into it and check on the ducks and help her change their pool water and feed them.
The ducks have been so entertaining during this dark time and have made all of us smile and laugh each day, which is a huge gift.
The most important thing is that my daughter is happy and it’s helping her get through this quarantine. She can’t see her friends, go to the movies, or the local skate park, but she can care for these animals.
It’s showing her she can make the best of a bad situation and it’s lifting some of the darkness for her (and the rest of us) during this pandemic.
I’m glad I said yes and didn’t pass up the opportunity to bring some cheer into our home since, right now, because we sorely needed it.
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