Oh RATS!

I took my daughter and adopted daughter (friend) on a girls' retreat this week. We went to a hotel, had some discussions with Bible study on hard teen issues, and went shopping. It was a lot of fun!! We were supposed to follow our overnight stay with a trip to the zoo but storms had taken out their electricity for most of the day. So instead of seeing the animals at the zoo, my daughter brought home an animal.....a rat.

Mind you, rats are not my rodent of choice. I prefer guinea pigs or gerbils. BUT you might consider saying yes to your kid if you saw the look on your kid's face like the one I saw yesterday.

Here's the story:  While shopping the first day, she saw it and held it. I had already told her 'no' because I felt she had too much on her plate next year. She didn't push the issue but mentioned it a few times during the rest of the retreat...dreaming I guess.

After the zoo trip failed we dropped by the store again to let her buy the aquarium plant she saw there since another store didn't have what she wanted. Of course she popped back over to see the rat. She pulled at my heart strings by saying something like, "I can't explain why, but I need her. She's special." Indeed she is...she is curly like a poodle. Well...

I told her to call her Dad. I told her to tell him mom said NO but explain to him what she said to me. Now, he is more logical and might be able to appeal to her logical side. During the wait for him to return her phone message, a man walks up with an employee to buy 2 rats from the cage. He didn't care which rats because they were going to be snake food.

My daughter gave me a look I've NEVER seen from her. This independent soul has always needed me but has never admitted that she needed my help. Her face went pale. Her eyes filled with tears. The look was 'please don't let this happen to MY rat'.

I walked over to the employee and asked if he would please not sell the curly rat because my daughter was waiting to see if she could adopt it as a PET. The men were happy to accommodate.

So...I texted my husband, who I knew would back me up on the 'no', to please say 'yes'.

Meet Diantha, named after the dianthus flowers.