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(This was published in Missouri’s Tri-County Star in 1989 under my married name, J. P. Rowe.)

      LESSONS I LEARNED FROM A TINY FRIEND

“She’s the one!” my eight-year old, Jenny, shouted as she pointed to the brown and white hamster in the pet store.  “I’ll name her Deedee.”  Who could have guessed that a $2.98 pet would have taught me so much about keeping on keeping on.

     Have a Definite Goal.  DeeDee’s  singular goal in life was to escape her hamster cage.  She would not be deterred from this goal and chose every opportunity to its best advantage.  I was amazed to see how steadfastly she clung to this great desire of hers.

     One day I heard music from the downstairs playroom.  It wasn’t the usual “Mr. Rogers” or “Little White Duck” songs but “The Nutcracker”.  I had to rush down to relish this cultural event in the lives of my daughters.

     What I discovered was not what I had anticipated.  Deedee was taking a Merry-Go-Round ride via the record player.  She was decked out in fashion designer clothing borrowed from Barbie.  My six-year old, Elizabeth, had forced a straw hat around the poor thing’s neck fastened with elastic.  Still, through this torture, Deedee was frantically trying to jump off the table.  I learned, Don’t give up even if the whole world goes crazy; and No matter how much is thrown at you, use it as an opportunity to achieve your goal.

     Later that day, the girls decided to work on an art project by painting DeeDee’s four feet and allowing her to run rampant across construction paper.  First with red prints and the escape attempt was frantic.  Next came yellow which was followed by blue and green.  Each color found Deedee more creative and more determined to reach her original goal:  escape.

     I had to ponder the times I’d given up:  when my gardening attempts were unsuccessful, I’d settled for straw instead of pansies in my flower bed; when my lemon pie was runny, I’d switched to the frozen, boxed king.  The list went on and on.

     Find a way to cope with frustration while you wait for opportunity.  Deedee did this by chewing her running wheel to shreds.  Then she started chewing the hole it had been mounted on.  I anticipated her next scheme and placed the cage in a plastic swimming pool in our garage.

     Once you’ve made progress, see each new challenge as conquerable. 

     The next morning, I was stunned to see a five-inch hole chewed down to the floor through our new, blue carpet.  Dee was no longer the family pet — she was a formidable enemy.  The garage told the story.  she had escaped from the cage and chewed a small hole in the pool; she was somewhere in the house.

     Once you’ve accomplished your goal, immediately secure your position or set new goals. 

     This is a step Deedee failed to act upon.  Having escaped her cage and prison, she found a stale jelly bean left over from a candy Christmas tree and settled herself into retirement behind my living room sofa.  There I grabbed her in anger feeling for all the world like a successful safari hunter.  My victory was short-lived as she launched a counter attack in the form of hamster wee-wee.  It was all I could do not to drop the rascal.

     Enlist your enemies to help you achieve your goal.

     After three successful escapes and three carpet holes in one week, I was worn down.  Deedee awakened me one night when my husband was out of town on business. I stayed up most of the night searching for her, getting more angry with every passing hour of unrest.  At last I caught up with her, took her to the front door, looked her in the eyes and paraphrased Dr. King’s speech: ” Free at last, Free at last!  I thank God Almighty that you are going to be free at last!”  And with that I threw Deedee into the dark of our yard.

     Well, we haven’t heard from Deedee in a couple of weeks, but I still have a feeling that some night our house will come crumbling down at the foundation from a rodent that just won’t quit!

*Image courtesy of Praisaeng at FreeDigitalPhotos.net