A Childhood Full of Pets

I had an amazing childhood. I guess I would still consider this time in my life part of my childhood. I know I’m technically and legally an adult, but I’m living at home outside of college, and I still depend on my parents quite a bit. There are so many things that made my childhood such a happy one. I was thinking about one of the minor things, yet a very important one: Pets. I’ve had so many pets throughout my life: cats and dogs, guinea pigs and hamsters, the occasional fish here and there. I love having pets. Humans are great friends, but my pets are the unrecognized heroes. They’ve created hilarious moments. They’ve caused great grief. It’s weird how much a pet can affect your emotions. Some of my favorite childhood memories have my pets in the background. We’ve reached a point in our family where we’ve said no more pets, and now I’ve grown up with the same resilient cats and dogs. My pets have seen it all. My dream to be a wide receiver in the NFL. My dream to be a professional golfer. My dream to be a golf course architect. They’ve seen my relationships, the good ones and the bad ones. They’ve seen me leave on trips and greet me when I get back. They’ve seen me get into colleges, and they’ve seen me go off to college. They’ve spent every holiday with us, even the ones that we have had to corral them into the bathroom so they don't destroy the dinner table. They’ve seen me grow up. They’ve seen everything. I’m sure I’m leaving out some big moments I can’t even think of. I remember when I was really young and my dad coming home from work, sitting on the leopard print blanket on the sofa, and watching Sports Center, yelling, “Fattails here! Hey now, Fattail!”. I used to hate Sports Center back then, and now I watch sports almost every day. Trying to remember all of the nicknames we’ve made over the years for our pets is near impossible. I think my dad must’ve made one up every day. Our pets have grown personalities and character arcs. We’ve made up real lives for them and make up stories. I think I gained a lot of storytelling skills from making shit up about my pets. I think about what kind of childhood I want for my kids one day. I said I didn’t want them to have pets growing up. I thought they weren’t worth the hassle of litter boxes and fur all over my clothes. The lint rollers and the peeing on bath mats. I realized I’m depriving my future kids of all these memories to share. I want my kids to have a very similar childhood to mine, and it just wouldn’t be the same without pets around. I want them to grow up with a furry companion who they love and cherish, one they can learn how to deal with the ups and downs with. Pets are a great learning opportunity, as well as obviously just friendship. Happy Friday!