Elsa

Black Friday, 2014.  Petsmart was my only destination that morning.  I was there before 6am.  I was after the super cheap kitty litter (we go through a lot of that around here).  While I was there I noticed that all the critters were half-off.  When I got back home, Monkey gave me a hard time for not taking her with me. Turns out she'd seen the 1/2 off critters and aquariums in the ad and wanted to use her own money to get some fish.  So, I took Monkey -and Nini- and we headed back to Petsmart.  While Monkey contemplated which fish set up to invest in, Nini and I did a little browsing.  That's when Nini saw her.  A white parakeet with a light blue belly.  The only one with that coloring in the enclosure.  Nini instantly recognized the bird as "an Elsa bird" and had to have her.  I'll admit, I was tempted to get it... first of all, I love birds, second, I'm totally a sucker when it comes to my kids' special interests.  But the honest truth is I had real reservations about getting a bird for a five-year-old.  Luckily (?) by the time Monkey was ready to check out - and we walked by the birds again - the Elsa bird was gone.  Nini was heart broken, but secretly I thought it was probably for the best.

Fast forward a year.  Black Friday, 2015.  I'm once again standing outside Petsmart before 6am just to buy kitty litter.  This year, instead of a stocking with kitty and doggie treats, we were supposed to get ornaments. But as we walked into the store, there was the manager handing out $5 off coupons.  Turns out there were problems "at the north pole" and the ornaments didn't arrive in time.  Cool, I thought, the kitty litter will be even cheaper.  Then I walked past the birds (since they'd wisely moved the kitty litter to the back of the store that year) and noticed not only the big 1/2 off sign... but the single white bird, with a light blue belly, in the midst of a flock of yellow parakeets.  Shoot.  An Elsa.  And she just stopped her pecking around and just looked at me.  No, I thought, no more birds.  I filled a cart with kitty litter... and went back.  I stood there long enough I attracted an employee.  I had to tell her I was debating.  You see, Nini had asked for ONE THING for Christmas.  A tablet.  And neither Santa or Mom and Dad were going to give her one (I don't believe in giving six year olds computers of their own).  I had plans to get her a boogie board (a digital magic slate), but I knew she'd be disappointed (in reality, she cried when she saw it Christmas morning she was so disappointed).  I knew the mom and dad present had to be particularly wonderful to make up for it.  An Elsa bird would be perfect.  And with the coupon in my hand, the bird would only be $5.  I had a spare cage at home and we already had food and stuff for my birds.  There would be hardly any expense involved and it would definitely be the best consolation present for her.  But getting a six-year-old a bird?  What if she can't be gentle enough, responsible enough... It was one of the most difficult purchases I have ever made.  But I did it and cut short the rest of my shopping trips so I could get the little thing home and out of the cold as soon as possible.  I started planning how to hide her arrival, which neighbors I could ask to hide her at their home until Christmas.  It would be tricky, but maybe I could do it... and then it hit me... Christmas morning.  Would I get her from friends that morning?  My kids get up before 6am, I couldn't wake neighbors that early to retrieve her.  I couldn't set her out Christmas Eve, we have cats after all.  Get her Christmas Eve and try to hide her that last day?  I was almost home and still hadn't figured it all out.  So, after consulting with Beorn after I arrived home (with the announcement of "I've done a terrible thing...."), we decided to give Nini her present early.  To say she was THRILLED is putting it mildly  To have someone her age weep out of sheer joy is rare indeed.  Oddly, she swore us all to secrecy... didn't want her friends to know, I was told specifically "not to put it on Facebook".  It was such an amazing and special thing to her that she was certain it would make her friends sad and immensely jealous to know she had her own bird.  She wanted to do everything herself, right from the beginning, to care for Elsa.  She changes the water, carefully winnows out the seed hulls and gives Elsa just the right amount of new seed (we're trying to transition her to pellets) and cleans the cage weekly.  She even sings to her (she's certain Elsa even sings back when she sings "do you want to build a snowman?"). Turns out my six-year-old is totally able to take care of a bird.

Elsa's been around for well over a month now.  Sometimes I feel sorry for her, living alone in Nini's room and calling out, while my birds happily play and chirp in my room.  Parakeets are social and need to bond with their flock.  I'm sure Elsa is trying to find the other birds and I've worried she might be unhappy.  But, the last couple of days have helped me feel better.  Two days ago I went up to the cage and Elsa came right up to my face.  She definitely wasn't afraid of me, so I wondered if she was ready to eat out of my hand.  She was.  Hopped right onto my hand without hardly thinking about it.  So I had Nini try when she got home.  And....

Nini was the happiest kid ever.  She could even pet Elsa with her fingers and almost hug her.

 I took pictures and she immediately asked if I was going to put them on Facebook.  Do you want me to?  YES!  And thus the gag order was rescinded.

Yesterday, while hand feeding Elsa, Nini kept saying "it feels so good" to have a bird on her hand.  It just felt right to her.  This little birdie is really bringing a lot of joy into her life.

Definitely one of the best $5 I've ever spent.