Hammy the Hamster

Xander wanted more animals then we currently have, which at the moment is one fish….his fish.  So I told him about hamsters.  We had all sorts of pet rodents growing up which I remember with fondness, even if they did eat each other.  I was okay with a hamster, but didn't know if Ryan would be and I wanted Xander to learn responsibility and the value of working hard for a long time for something.  So, our hamster journey started.  We got library books about hamsters and read several of them.  Then Xander made a poster all about hamsters and how to take care of them.  Then we went to the pet store and priced out all he needed for a hamster - which if purchased new is sort of expensive.  So off to craigslist we searched.  While still searching for the right priced cage, Xander gave his Dad a presentation with his poster of the Hamster and how he was going to take care of it.  After Ryan gave his blessing the search continued and Xander started working extra chores for more money to finance his goal.  Eventually he earned enough money and we got the cutes little hamster and all the stuff.  This hamster is perfect.  She is a golden syrian hamster and never has bitten anyone or been aggressive at all.  We love her.  The end.

That is a great story huh?  Xander sounds impressive, I sound like a good Mom and it is all around a good story.  All of it is true too.  However there is a lot missing in this story.  Like, How Xander was obsessed with doing all the things I required of him as fast as possible so he could get his hamster.  It was exhausting!  He pestered me read the books all day, then make the poster all day.  Then he wanted to go to the pet store several times. I had to say no frequently.  He was so driven to make money that he wanted to work all day long.  He was so focused that he didn't want to eat lunch and just kept working. I should have forced him to because by 2 pm he was falling apart and was a total mess.  He would argue with me how much I should pay him per chore and then throw a fit. I ended up firing him and sending him to his room where he cried himself to sleep while I made him a sandwich I planned to force feed him.  It was nuts!  I ended up hating craigslist because Xander would beg me to check my email and craigslist every hour to see if anyone responded or posted something new.  With any free time he had he wanted to peruse craigslist to see what was out there.  And the questions were non stop! It was driving me CRAZY!  It took all my determination to not just buy the cage to make this horrible experience end.  But I really wanted him to learn hard work over a period of time while you work to make a goal happen.  I learned that learning these skills for Xander is very painful for all involved. I am so glad it is over.   In the end it took about 1.5 weeks - and I was putting the breaks on often. We really do love the hamster though.  She is very cute and a great family pet.  We don't know how old she is because she was a rescue hamster, so hopefully she will live for awhile. They usually only live 2 years.