My Birthday Surprise

By Renee

It was December 7, 2001, the day before my birthday and my mother and I went to my Local PetSmart to get some dog and cat food. I had been there the week before and saw one of the women who works there walking around with a baby sun on her shoulder and thought how cute it was that he was babbling away. I had had a Gold Capped Conure that had died a couple of years prior to this and was not looking for another conure but an Eclectus.

I went and looked at their birds like I always do. Usually they only have budgies but today in a glass enclosure they had the very same sun conure I had seen the week before. I went up to him and got eye level and we just stared at each other. I stood up and put my hand next to the glass and he tried his hardest to climb on my finger. When he realized he couldn’t through the glass, he started jumping up and down, and my heart started dropping further.

There was another couple looking at him so I moved to the other side to let them see him also but he just kept following me around his enclosure. I knew we did not have the money for him so I was trying to tell myself not to get too close. I walked around to get my pet food and from the moment I walked out of sight he kept calling for me. I went back several times just to look at him and it was getting harder to walk away. My mom conveniently stayed away, she knows how I am.

Well I left there crying quiet tears thinking there is no way, we just bought a house and I have 3 children plus 3 cats and a dog. Our house was already full but my heart just wouldn’t agree. My husband called from work and he knew there was something wrong, I just couldn’t stop the tears.

He tried to console me and tell me that if he was cheaper we would be able to get him but at the time being with Christmas and all we could not. I told him I understood but I was still very upset. We hung up and I even called the store to see if I could set up a payment plan but they said no. I was so emotionally drained that I came down with a horrible headache and retired to my room to pout in private. I don’t normally act so childish but I could not get over him, he stole my heart.

Two hours before my husband usually gets off work he pulled up into the driveway, so I got up to greet him and he hands me his lunchbox and asks me to please unload it and put the ice pack up in the freezer. I walked into the kitchen and opened his lunch box and out popped my little Ducky. I just went crazy and started crying again and laughing. I just held him and he cuddled up against my neck and started clucking at me. I was in heaven.

So that is how I got my Ducky, we were a little late on our house payment but he was worth it.