Hedgehog Heaven

Since they were old enough to talk, it seems the kids have begged us for a pet.  “When we are done having babies,” I always said, “then maybe we can get a dog.”  “But mom! What about a bunny or frog or fish or hamster?” they would plead.  “Nope”, I firmly replied every single time.  “When we get a pet, it will not be a ‘half pet’.  We are not getting any caged animals.  We will get a proper pet, which is a dog.”

And they remembered this promise, and finally, when the last holdout (dad) agreed, we got our dear, naughty Shadow.  Pet conversations closed.  The pet has been purchased, loved and integrated into our family.

Or not.  Dear old Dad, for the same reason he ultimately agreed we should get a dog, thought we should allow our fourth child to realize his (nearly) lifelong dream of owning a hedgehog.  Yes, our dear white-haired 11-year-old wonder has loved hedgehogs for almost the entirety of his young life.  What started with a love of Sonic the Hedgehog became a full-fledged love of all wildlife, and hedgehogs in particular.  So dad, who wanted our son to fully experience what he is passionate about, somehow talked me (the “we will NEVER have a caged animal in this house” mamma) into agreeing. 

And so my son, as a birthday/Christmas gift and with some of his additional savings, bought a hedgehog.  Because of his coloring, he named him Bandit.  We waited several weeks for his arrival.  When the day finally came to pick him up, our son was beside himself with excitement.  The three younger kids and I sat through an hour-long information session on how to care for a hedgehog.  I was taking notes while my son interjected questions based on his (massive) research.  After awhile, we were able to take Bandit home in a cross-body carrying pouch my son had received for Christmas. 

But the first 24 hours were not all rainbows and unicorns. . .it turns out hedgehogs are actually really prickly.  Who would have guessed that?? And when they’re anxious or afraid, they also startle when you attempt to pick them up, which I am here to attest, is not. pleasant. That first day was quite a learning curve for my son and me.

By the second day, after church, Bandit must have been feeling a little more at home in my boys’ room, because he let us pick him up without trying to kill us.  Before long, my son was an expert at holding him and taking care of him.  He’s very cute, so I am trying to ignore/forgive the following hedgehog traits:

·      They are nocturnal.  I know they can’t help this trait that is in written into their hedgehoggy DNA, but my word.   The boys seem to sleep through it, but he wakes me up often.  I go in, move his (silent wheel) away from the cage wall, take toys out that he is moving around (not in a quiet, respectful way, considering 8 other living beings are sleeping while he is having a grand ol’ time), and make sure his cage lends itself to silent play.  I have limited success in this area.

·      Litter box training.  Apparently hedgehogs can be litter box trained.  I don’t think that info seems to be written into his hedgehoggy DNA.  He has a litter tray, but his poo does not seem to be confined to that area.

·      Hedgehog grooming.  The breeder sold us some hedgehog bath soap, that we have yet to try out, though my son says we need to bath him soon (I am holding out for . . .I don’t know what – the end of the world?).  Bathing a pokey animal who will most certainly not enjoy the bath doesn’t sound like a lot of fun to me.  We also need to trim his nails periodically.  It is hard to describe to you how tiny his nails are.  I feel basically sure my eyesight is not up to the task and I will seriously injure him.  Again. . .holding out. . .

·      Gear.  For such a little thing, he is kind of a diva.  Wheel, litter pan (with special stuff in the litter pan), bedding for the cage, igloo, crinkly toy, water bottle, food and dish, carrying pouch thingy. . . also a vet visit at the beginning to insure his health. 

·      And finally, the piece dé resistance  - hedgehoggy diarrhea.  Last night I went in to check on the boys before I went to bed and peeked in at Bandit, like I always do (he is always in full swing for the start of his 8-hour part-ay), when my nose was assaulted.  Yes, I had to clean up loose hedgehog poo (which I am hoping is not indicative of anything wrong with his delicate system) before I went to bed.  I am living the life.

So some of this hedgehog business is a little sketchy.  But my son loves him dearly, and Bandit is teaching him responsibility and giving him an outlet to explore his passion of wildlife (he wants to be a vet when he grows up).  Everyone agrees he’s adorable, with his tiny twitching nose and cute little face.  I can’t believe we own a caged animal, but Bandit has been good for my son, and my son gets to realize his lifelong dream at age 11.  I think it’s a win-win.

What's in a Name?

Naming one's children is no easy task.  As parents, we know that whatever name we give our wee little babe will be with them for life.  Should we name our little pumpkin something timeless or trendy?  Biblical or New Age?  Should we go with a family name?  Something that can (or can't) be nicknamed? Something I found on a map or heard in People magazine?

It's serious business.  Naming a person will help define who they are for oh, their entire life.  No pressure, eh?

When we chose our kids's names, we had allll sorts of discussions.  My husband threw out some whackadoodle biblical names (Maher-shalal-hash-baz??) that I quickly vetoed (you're welcome, children).  They may have had great meanings, but I didn't think my precious little one needed to be saddled with some of them.  Other times, however, I was the one who came up with a doozy that my husband nixed (i.e. Theophilus - hey it's a family name, and it can be shortened to adorable Theo!). Eventually, we chose a boy and girl name each pregnancy since we didn't find out gender until I gave birth.  We ultimately chose first names that were rich in meaning, and family middle names.

This summer, I blogged about how we came to name our third child (you can read about it here).  It was a big deal, naming him, mostly because we had to name him nine weeks early and weren't prepared! When my husband suggested the name we chose, I remember rolling it around in my mouth. . .checking it out and seeing how it felt.  And it felt right.  And now, 13.5 years later, his name still feels right in my mouth, as do all my kids' names.

Recently I heard a quote, attributed to "Billy, age 4", but I am not sure of its true origin.  This quote said so much to me about how we see our loved ones.  I remembered immediately sitting in the hospital room, "feeling" the name in my mouth, and deeming it perfect for our beloved baby.  This is the quote:

When someone loves you, the way they say your name is different.

  You know that your name is safe in their mouth.

Indeed.  Regardless of why we chose their names, I hope that all my children (and husband, and friends and family) know that their names are safe in my mouth.  That their names are treasured windows into who they are as people.  That their names are precious, respected, valuable and unique, because they are precious, respected, valuable and unique.  Each of my children is unrepeatable, created by God in His image, special and like no one else.  

So what's in a name?  Everything.

I have called you by name,

you are mine.

Isaiah 43:1b

Confirmed in Christ!

He is risen!  He is risen indeed!

And indeed we had a glorious Easter weekend at our house.  Our fourth child was confirmed and had his first communion, and it was every bit of wonderful.  We had 23 family members in town to celebrate with us and our son. We ate well, we laughed, we had an egg hunt and an Egg Roll competition, my son received some lovely faith-strengthening gifts, and most of all, we all worshiped together -- at the Easter Vigil where my son was confirmed, and at Easter morning worship as well.  

If we had to choose one word to describe our son, it would be passion.  He is passionate about everything he does and loves.  And I love that about him!  It sometimes makes emotions flare, but he is always authentic.  Each confirmand's parent wrote an essay about their child and they were all published in a keepsake book for those attending the Easter Vigil.  Here is an excerpt of what my husband wrote about our son:

Passion.  If there is one word that describes you (and there could be many others) this one tops the list. You feel things so deeply.  The things that capture your attention fascinate me.  You ponder things that most people would never give a thought. Your never-still mind is always filling you with curiosity.  Whether it is the sports you love, or reading Harry Potter, or your interest in all kinds of animals and wildlife, some of them rather exotic (how did you ever get so enamored with hedgehogs?) - whatever interested you - you are all in.  I love that about you, my son.  God gave you that sense of wonder.  All of your interests are to help you look for the One who created such a fascinating, curious, interesting world for you to discover.

And so, my son, my prayer is that your passion directs you to Him - that you may be "all in" following Jesus.  Because if one truly, passionately, curiously wonders about eJsesus and searches for Him, you will never be bored.

The verse my son chose as his confirmation verse is 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18:  Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.

This was my grandma's verse.  She lived by it, she wrote it down as a reminder, and it truly summed up who she was.  My son looked at many, many verses trying to decide which one he wanted, and decided that this was the one.  I love that he chose her verse, and that he wants to focus on prayer and giving thanks to God in all circumstances.

Our boy's confirmation, like his siblings' before him, was an amazing experience.  The entire extended family surrounded him as my husband confirmed him and prayed over him.  My son was beyond excited and full of emotion (as many of us were - my youngest daughter was weepy with happiness for her big brother).  And when we returned to our seats, he was full of joy and so thrilled to take his first communion a few minutes later.  

As he grows up, I pray my son keeps that exuberance for Christ.  I pray he embraces his passions and that they will point him to Christ.  And that all he does falls under the umbrella of prayer and giving thanks.