Patients

Today’s title is a twofer. I landed on that title because #1, I’m feeling a bit like a patient today. My kids have been doing their best work in attempting to have me commit myself soon which leads me to #2: patience. As in I have none. Oddly enough, kids don’t care how much you have, when you run out, or when they’ve run up a negative balance. Even with announced warning, my son continues to test the limits of my sanity.

So what do you throw into that mix of disaster?!

*drumroll*

A new pet! But not just aNy old pet, a rescue pet from a shelter you know virtually nothing about!

Winner winner!

Yup, so this guy happened

See how happy he is to bite that bar? He gets equal enjoyment if that bar is replaced with my finger. Lucky for him I am familiar with much larger beaks doing much worse damage, but it’s still not fun.

I have had cockatiels before, so I know the patience will be worth it. Currently, however, this patient is running out of bandaids. This morning when I went (slowly) to take his seed container to refill it, he nailed me. My son said, “Mom, he’s just like everyone else in this family. He’s grumpy in the morning.”

Touché, son. Touché.

The poor bird has zero instinct to step up onto my finger. He did not know what millet was. (bird crack for those who aren’t aware) He didn’t have a safe or proper perch or toy in his cage either.

After one week he will tolerate my finger, but only if millet is present. He will step up to reach the treat, but I have (gently) pushed my finger into his belly, and he will not step up. Kind of like waving a hand in front of a blind person. Zero recognition. It’s the strangest thing.

He has at least now begun to step up on a perch. This helped immensely when he had his first out-of-cage adventure today.

I’ve never seen a creature so happy to return to a cage!

So we are making progress, but my son is so impatient with it all he tends to push me to push the bird before either of us is ready.

My kids have been watching funny youtube videos. I think my son thought the minute Squirt left the cage he would somehow be transformed into a talking, pleasant, grocery cart-pushing performer. Such is not the case.

We have all had to take a step back and evaluate our patience levels. It’s been a good experience for the kids to see how much work goes into these guys. (Spoiler: it’s a lot) It’s paying off, and for that I am hopeful and thankful.