Zoo life!

<a href=”https://dailypost.wordpress.com/prompts/zoo/”>Zoo</a&gt;

We’ve raised our kids with a love for animals. The deal was that when they each turn 9 they get their own animal to take care of. The only stipulation was, it had to be a caged animal and it couldn’t be a spider.

My oldest got a baby bearded dragon. It’s was a cute little thing with quite the personality. My second got a Mojave Ball Python. Beautiful snake! My third fell in love with a bright orangish red corn snake. We fed and took care of this little guy just like the other animals… but something was wrong with him… he wouldn’t grow. Now matter how much we fed him. Unfortunately, he passed away. My boy was heartbroken. We have him some time and went and picked out another snake, this time going with a sand boa. Then there’s my daughter…she is the baby of the family and will be turning 9 in 2 weeks. She got a hedgehog! Cutest freaking critter!

Amongst all these animals we have a Catahoula, and a fish tank. We also have another bearded dragon that a family friend grew bored with, so we took it in.

We did own sugar gliders for quite a while.. but age eventually caught up with each one of them and slowly they passed away.. the last one within the last month. My middle son had formed quite a bond with that thing and was devastated when she went.

I don’t understand families that don’t allow their children to have pets. Give them the chance to form a bond. To learn responsibility. They will learn what real love is! They will also learn what death is. Yes, that sounds harsh. But death is inevitable. They are going to face it some point in their life. Teach them how to handle it at a young age.

You don’t have to start big. Start with something small. Hermit crabs, fish, whatever. Join forums, learn the proper way to take care of them, don’t always rely on the teenager at the pet store that makes minimum wage.

Anyways.. as you can tell, I live in a zoo! But I wouldn’t have it any other way..

Friends.. do we need them?

Am I the only one that has such a small circle of friends that you can’t even form a circle? 
I’ve never had a ton of friends. I knew long before anyone ever told me, that if you want to be successful, to surround yourself with successful people… well in school, kids were only successful because their parents were.. No matter how much I tried to hang with the “cool” crowd. It didn’t change the fact that I came from a low income family and I didn’t fit in.. I was pretty much ignored. So I gave up. I didn’t want to hang out with the druggies, because I didn’t want to do drugs. I wasn’t a nerd (even though I kinda looked like one) I couldn’t even keep a C average. I wasn’t built to be a jock and most of them were part of the “cool” crowd anyways. I knew I didn’t want to hang out with other low income kids… because I didn’t want that life… about the only crowd I halfway fit into, was the car guys, and that really didn’t even happen till sophomore year in high school. Problem was, most of them were a bit trashy for me… I didn’t wear grease stained jeans to school, I didn’t like wearing muscle car shirts all the time. So, even though I drove a 1975 Chevy Nova, I still didn’t feel like I fit in.
Now, fast forward to today. 18 and a half years since I graduated. I’ve made a few friends along the way. Mostly, I have people I associate with. I don’t have friends I hang out with on a regular basis. Honestly,  one of my longest friends that I’ve known for 15 years, I’ve finally just gotten tired of his b.s. He’s disrespectful to his wife, to his kids. The only reason I’ve been friends with him for so long, is because I thought I needed a close friend. But when I look back at our relationship, I realize I was simply there for his amusement. Someone to call when he needed something. 

Don’t get me wrong, I’m happy. Im not writing this post to make anyone feel sorry for me. Im mainly writing it to vent a little and let others know, you don’t have to change who you are to impress people. If they don’t like you for being you.. then 🖕🏻I’ve made it this far in life with little help from friends. My wife and I have learned to lean more on each other and discuss our problems, rather than running off and venting to someone else. Because of this we have a very strong marriage. 

I do have friends I can call on in desperate need, that I know would drop everything and come to my aid. I would do the same thing for them. They live 3 hours away, and we get together every chance we get. They like us for us. We can be real around them. No judgement. We all have very similar views in just about everything. From politics to raising our kids. They are one of the few I can trust to leave my kids with. I honestly don’t know what I’d do without them. 

To wrap up. You don’t need a huge circle of friends to get though life. You just need those couple friends that are willing to do anything for you. The smaller the circle, the less drama. 

Values

I’m old schools, I treat others the way I want to be treated. I say please and thank you, Sir and Ma’am. I open doors for women, and I’m raising my boys to do the same. We drive a 4 door Jeep Wrangler. (Don’t worry, you’ll see plenty of pics of her down the road) When we go to leave the house, or anywhere for that matter. I open the drivers side rear door for my Daughter and one of my boys always opens the passenger door for their Mother. I’ve watched my boys stand and hold a door for 5-6 people after we walk through just because he doesn’t want to be rude and let it slam in their face. Now, I know some don’t agree with this, and frankly, I don’t give a damn. But this world is becoming so self absorbed, that eventually there won’t be many Gentlemen left.. I cherish the idea of my kids being different. I want them to stand out in a crowd. Why blend in? Why be like the guy next to you? Be different. Take chances! People will recognize that.