I Will Be A Squirrel

I was in the kitchen last night with my daughter and husband as my daughter and I were putting the final touches on dinner before sitting down to eat, when my daughter breaks out into a story from work. For those of you who may not know, she has just gotten a job at a local supermarket as a bag girl. Being a minor she will still have to adhere to the specific hours until she turns sixteen.

She begins the story by saying that a senior man came through the line she was bagging for and he had quite a few bags of peanuts. My daughter being the very observant person and knowledgeable in the kitchen, she asked the gentleman if he was going to go home and make boiled peanuts. He looked to her and said, "No, I am taking these home for the squirrel in my yard."

My daughter, being a vegetarian and animal lover thought that was a sweet thing for him to do. But it did not stop there. He explained to her why he feeds this particular squirrel. You see, his wife died recently and as she was dying, she told her husband that she would come back as a squirrel. So on his first trip out of the house after she died, he was returning home from some errand, and there was a squirrel in his driveway. He knew in his heart that this was his wife letting him know that she was still with him.

Who's to say. No one has proof otherwise. So I say let him think what he wants if it helps him get through the day. If he wants to think she is a potato peeler, it is his prerogative.

I sat there listening to my daughter tell the story and my eyes welled up with teas, knowing that some day either me or my husband will be alone. And that thoughts scares the living crap out of me.

It's not that he or I could not function without one another, for we could. And yes, it would be an adjustment, but I cannot imagine the loneliness. I enjoy sitting with my husbands on the mornings we have together and sit and talk about current events...or not. Talk about the weather or what is a five letter word for fowl that begins with an "R". Those things are better shared with someone. I feel for people who have not found that special someone, for whatever reason. To live out your final years alone. To me that would the worst.

Kids grow up and make their own lives. It's not that you are no longer important, it's just they have made their own lives and have to do the same things you did years before.

I hope that this man is happy knowing that he is keeping his wife fed. Because in thee end, isn't it the thought that counts?