My husband did not have a very good morning. We arose at 5:00 a.m. to make it on time for his MRI in a city 75 miles away. That’s early for us. Since he had to go fasting, he was unable to take his morning pills, and as a result, his body chemistry was not happy. Following the test, we went to get breakfast so he could take his medications. After eating, we sat in the car in front of the restaurant as he organized and consumed his medications. I sat quietly and looked out the window to see a busy squirrel at the base of a big tree that was shading our car. As I watched the squirrel scurry here and there in search of a treasure, he settled on a spot that seemed promising to him and began digging in the mulch. The more he dug, the more energetically he dug. I assumed he was getting whiffs of what he was looking for. Soon the hole was almost big enough for his head, and he must have discovered what he was searching for. He would stick his head in the hole and come back out chewing and immediately start digging again even faster. He did that several times, and now his head was almost completely inside the hole. He stuck his head in as far as he could and started wiggling it around. When he pulled ihis head out this time, he had a nut in his mouth. He took it in his paws and nibbled a bit before quickly scampering away.
Now my husband loves squirrels. As a boy he rescued one that had fallen out of its nest and kept it for a pet until it was able to survive on its own. He fed it peanut butter and carried it in his shirt pocket everywhere he went, to school, to church–to the consternation of the adults in charge, no doubt. I knew he would be delighted to see this one, but he didn’t want to be disturbed while he was concentrating, so I watched for him.
When he finshed what he was doing, I told him I had a story for him, and I described the squirrel’s antics to him. He was delighted with the story, and his day brightened up. Whether it was the food, the medications, or my squirrel story, who’s to say? I choose to believe it was my story that made the difference.
And I know I was inspired by Love to pay attention to the details of the squirrel’s activity so I’d have the story to offer.
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