>Is there anyone out there who has had a zoo and sanely raised a human
>child?  I'd like to hear from that person!
 
Heck, I'd like to hear from someone who knows how to sanely raise a human
child, with or without a zoo!  Insanity seems to be part of the territory.
After all, what sane person spends their days saying things like "please,
honey, don't put the Cheerios in your nose...no, sweetie, please don't try
to put the Cheerios in kitty's nose...I don't *care* if he deserved it, it
was NOT funny to put a "for sale" sign up in the supermarket advertising
your brother for sale and signing MY name to it!...you flushed WHAT down
the toilet?!?"
 
I don't think I'd be half as sane as I am (which, admittedly, isn't much!)
without Tiferet to vent to.  The other boys bring me smiles with their
antics, but like Sean and Rocky, Tiferet and I curl up together and I tell
her all of my parenting woes and worries.  She listens patiently, and
while she hasn't given me any sound advice yet :-) she has licked away
more than her share of tears.
 
But parenthood isn't all worry and bother.  There are so many beautiful
moments.  Watching a child discover the world is a beautiful thing.  I'd
do it again in an instant!  My six children have brightened the world
immeasurably.  But I wouldn't call sanity an abundant commodity around
here!!!!  :-)
 
You *will* meet people who will give you the "how can you raise your
children in a zoo?" speech.  You will sigh and learn to avoid those
people.  You will hear "well, perhaps if you spent less time/money on
those animals, you'd have enough time/money for your child!" You will
hear "your child is suffering" and you will hear about every child in the
entire universe who was ever bitten, mauled, emotionally scarred for life,
or killed by an animal.  This is just par for the course.  You will get a
gazillion conflicting pieces of advice on everything from which baby
powder/ointment/diaper to use to which college (s)he should attend.  It
helps to paste a wan smile on your lips, let your eyes glaze over, and go
on your own inner retreat until the lecture is over.  Then, when you sense
that the droning has ended and they're waiting for a response, you say
"thank you for sharing" and move on.  YOU and your spouse will know what's
right for the baby.  Yeah, if a particular dog growls and bares his teeth
every time he sees the kid, you might have some choices to make.  Yeah,
if the kid is deathly allergic to bird feathers, you'll be doing a lot of
soul searching, research, talking to the allergist, etc.  If you find that
*you* can't "do it all," you'll have to prioritize child, animal x, animal
y, animal z, work, husband, self, mother in law, etc.  We ALL have to make
priorities in our lives, it's part of being alive and active!  Heck, even
couch potatoes have to prioritize "should I watch this rerun of Seinfeld,
or go make some more popcorn?" LOL.
 
No one can choose those priorites for you.  You're right, in an ideal
world, the human kid comes first and nothing ever comes before that!
But...how many of us have left a wailing child in the arms of a babysitter
because we needed to spend time with spouse/friend/parent/ourselves?  In
the long run, the human kid is #1, but that doesn't preclude everything
else that you value.  You will find the path that works for you, and many
that don't.  Work fewer hours?  Work from home?  Don't have an outside
job?  Have 3 dogs instead of five?  Move to a larger house?  Let the kid
romp with the animals?  Keep the kid totally seperate?  Hire help to
care for the kid and/or animals while you recover from the strain of
pregnancy/childbirth?  Hire help to care for the kid and/or animals
forever?  Put the kid up for adoption?  Put the animals up for adoption?
Put the husband up for adoption?  Run away and hide from it all? <g>
 
I've thought of the last 4 especially often, you know!  LOL.  My point
is, life is choices.  And they're YOUR choices to make.  You can't do what
works for your Aunt Sadie or your next door neighbor's son's friend's
cousin.  You can't even do what your parents tell you to do.  You can only
do what feels right to you and your husband.  If your husband freaks out
every time the dog licks the top of the baby's head, or you find yourself
sleep deprived to the point of hallucinations, you'll have to follow your
heart and your head to decide on the proper path.
 
Whoops!  I'll bet I've gone over BIG's size limit for posts.  Sorry (not
really, I'm just being polite).  GOOD LUCK (yer gonna need it!)
 
Take care,
Chana Rosen
[Posted in FML issue 3584]