A daughter writes:
Many of you may or may not know of my recent acquisition of two female mice named ‘Honey’ and ‘Beans’ (long story). The pair are adorable, if not slightly obese, and are my self-proclaimed “children”. However, with this comes the trials and tribulations of parenting – aka freaking out when ur not around them to cater to their very specific needs. Who, other than I, knows how to call them to the cage door for some little snacks? Who knows that when Honey is jumping around frantically that she’s just excited? Who else will piss them off by flicking their little noses with soft tissue paper through the bars of their cage?
These fears often express themselves via very specific and reoccuring nightmares I get whenever I’m not home with them – and as a young fun teen with a “hip” party lifestyle this has happened often over the last week. No other 18 year old understands when you wake up panicked because you’ve had another nightmare about your furry children.
One such dream is where I open my bedroom door, only to discover Honey and Beans have escaped and are roaming the room. I only have a split second before all 3 dogs leap into action and try to eat them, resulting in the remainder of the dream being spent prying my mice out of Poppy’s little mouth. Another is where I am going about my day, only to realise the mice have been in my pockets the whole time, and I have to figure out how to keep them safe in whichever dreamscape I’ve ended up in. Overall, it’s very traumatic. Ultimately, I must come to terms with the reality of being parent to two little chaotic bundles of energy. I’m sure my mother went through the same thing, dreaming she had to drag me and becky from the clutches of whichever dog was living with us at the time.*
*Ed’s note: no actually!