Mama Rat

A few weeks ago, we stopped by the pet store because it has animals and it's cheaper than the zoo. While we were looking at the pets, I came across this mama rat. The picture isn't very clear, but she had baby rats climbing all over her trying to get a hold of her nursing parts.* The poor mama was so tired, she could barely open her eyes. She glanced at me for just a second before her eyelids fell, and then she lifted up her little paw and stuck it against the glass as if to say, "We are sisters, you and me."

I couldn't stop looking at her, and even after I moved away, I came back two or three times because I was so enthralled with her. She looked exactly how I felt, and I think we had a mutual understanding between us. I've never breastfed multiple children, or even one, for that matter, but I know the feeling of kids climbing all over you and needing you. Sometimes all you can do is find a friend who "knows" and hold your hand up to the glass in surrender.

I get you, Mama Rat. I do!

*Took me a minute to decide what kind of vocabulary word I wanted to use right there