The most unusual pet I ever owned was a pig. She was not one of those pot-bellied pigs that were so popular or one of those miniature cuties you see on Facebook. Amelia was a Red Duroc. She looked like a dachshund when I first got her, but she grew — fast. She soon outgrew her pen in our garage so we moved her to an enclosed field at a Farmer’s Market my family owned. Amelia lived with a goat and they became market celebrities.
My love of pigs began about twelve years earlier, when I was in the fourth grade. That was the year we read Charlotte’s Web. Oh, Wilbur, you were some pig.
Once I announced my affinity for swine, I was inundated with pigs of all shapes and sizes. Not live ones, mind you, but the kind you could buy in a gift shop. I had stuffed pigs, ceramic pigs and plastic pigs. There were pigs of all sizes from a life-sized piglet to a tiny figurine. I had over two hundred little piggies at one time. My grandfather loved to bring pigs home from business trips. Sometimes he forgot what he already purchased and brought me duplicates.
It was always a little troubling when someone would say “oh, I saw a pig the other day and it made me think of you”.
As you can imagine, I was delighted when the movie Babe was released in 1995. It remains one of my favorite movies. I was inspired to watch it again this summer after watching a sheep-herding exhibition at Grandfather Mountain Highland Games. (No pigs, only border collies.)
One of my favorite scenes in the movie is when the camera zooms in on the three little mice and they say in their squeaky mice voices “the way things are”. Of course, this is right before some of the less kind farm animals inform Babe of his true purpose in life. Poor Babe.
The Way Things Are
That pretty much sums up how I feel about this empty nest of mine. I neither hate it nor love it, like it or dislike it. It simply happens to be the way things are right now. And that’s not too bad, considering a couple of years ago, I would have told you I hated it with all my being. I guess I’m making progress and that’s a good thing.
How about you? Are you learning to be content in your circumstances? (Especially my fellow empty nest moms). What are some things you are doing to adjust?
What is the most unusual pet you ever owned? When my children were still at home we inherited a prairie dog named Chunky Monkey. She was fun, but definitely unusual.
Kim Wilbanks 
I give you a lot of credit. I’m still whining about missing my kids–since I’m a recent empty nester. I’m slowly beginning to accept it is what it is.
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I have my days 😉
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