I stopped in my local Tractor Supply Co. store to return a plastic flooring insert that did not fit our small rabbit cage. Designed to provide a more comfortable surface for a bunny’s feet to rest on, I considered using the insert in a new, larger cage. After our rabbit died a few weeks ago, there was no need to buy another cage.
Or was there? I just happened into a “rabbit days” event that runs through the month of April at the store. Rabbits of varying colors and breeds, and in a range of ages and stages, shared two, large hutches. I was drawn to the soft, young bunnies that lured me toward their place of promotional prominence.
I’d just scrubbed our old cage, folded it up, and stored it in the basement. Did our family not feel an unspoken understanding that we would now remain rabbit-less for a while? Hadn’t we been almost relieved (somewhat shamefully) that our pet Norbette had not stayed with us any longer than she had?
I took a deep breath for the strength to withstand the temptation to buy one of these adorable bunnies in time for Easter and clung to the positive power of knowing I no longer had to clean that old cage every week; I no longer had to scrounge for a bit of fresh produce every time I opened our refrigerator; and I no longer wondered how old our rabbit was and how long she would be with us.
Even though the Easter season makes me long for a pet rabbit – the one I would rather have had as a child on those Easters when I got a chick or a duck instead – I know it is better to “get real” without real rabbits and just think about them instead.
How Have Chicks and Rabbits Taken Over ?
By Nicholas Gordon
How have chicks and rabbits taken over
A holiday of mystical rebirth?
Perhaps the Lord has let them make it over,
Pleased with all the gentlefolk of Earth.
Youngsters needn’t dream of agony:
Easter, for children, must wear more festive clothes;
And so the soft, defenseless babes they see
Symbolize Christ’s love when He arose.
The Spring was always time for holidays.
Easter fun for tots no truth betrays:
Redemption is approached in many ways.
