Aw, Rats!

I think most of us had some sort of attachment to inanimate objects when we were kids. My attachments were probably more widespread than most, since I was an only child for 8 years and never acquired an imaginary friend to fill in the sibling void... or at least that's how I like to justify it. I threw elaborate birthday parties for my individual stuffed animals requiring days of preparation. We're talking party hats, cakes made out of counting bears, and invitations that my father willingly colored for me. The event itself was always pretty grandiose, as I remember it, seeing that all the guests were such party animals! (Stuffed animals, that is.)

Anyway, that's a bit of a tangent. The real story I'm trying to relay has to do with the above picture of my daughter. The squashy thing she's ruthlessly and excitedly devouring is a gummi rat. You may have seen them; you may have even partaken of one yourself. But I cannot see a gummi rat without having flashbacks to my childhood.

My two cousins (Brandy and Dara) and I received gummi rats as a gift one day while we were playing together. You'd think we would've done as normal kids do with candy, and eaten them, but not so. This is where the attachment to inanimate objects comes into play. We sacrificed their yummy, gummi goodness to instead become fast friends with our rats. We named them, dressed them up, and spent the entire day involving them in our activities. This, of course, led to a pressing need to bathe them. So, bathroom sinks were filled with luxurious bubble baths for rodents, and "squeaky" clean they became. Now, if you've ever seen a wet gummi anything, you know how slippery and shiny it gets. Which meant we needed to towel dry them, which meant they got all fuzzy again, which meant they needed another bath, ad infinitum.

And so the day was spent, blissfully ignorant of how ridiculous it is to have so much fun with a congealed piece of sugar.

So, did history repeat itself when Grandmother got Emma a gummi rat of her own? Unfortunately for the rat, I'm afraid not. Rodentia, beware.