“Ideas are like rabbits. You get a couple and learn how to handle them, and pretty soon you have a dozen.” ~ John Steinbeck

Me and the kids had a great time Saturday at the pet store – petting puppies, lizards, cats, hamsters, and bunnies.  My kids did not want to let go of the bunnies, even though we have two perfectly awesome cats at home.

Having animals has always been important in my family – my mom has been an animal rights activist since I was a kid, and we grew up learning how to be kind to animals, how to love and learn from nature, and how cruel people can be when it comes to animals.

I am proud of my kids for learning as early as possible how to be gentle with animals.  The other day I found my six year old daughter petting the cat, and not just petting him, but learning from his responses, and petting him in the ways that made him more happy.  That’s a big step up in maturity from just petting the cat because it’s alive and fluffy – she is learning to love the animal and have a working knowledge of what cats like, and what each individual cat likes. 

These skill are all transferable to humans – my kids all know how to rub and scratch each other’s backs – as far as ‘petting’ is concerned, I’ll have to teach my daughter that you DON’T do that with humans unless you are married!  Something like that.  I do worry about my daughters when they hit that age.