What Mr. Pickles has Taught Me about Patience, Presence, and Persistence
Above is Mr. Pickles.
(he loves carrots and lettuce)
Parenting skills can come from the most unexpected teachers…
As a guinea pig mom for 2 years now, I have learnt a couple skills that correlate to parenting in any scene.
A guinea pig may seem like an easy pet to attend to but in reality, they’re just as much work as a puppy; and this responsibility is required for their whole lifespan. Although they are cost-efficient pets, they come with great responsibility.
① Patience
Guinea pigs are HUGE talkers, like how babies are big criers. It takes a lot of patience to sit there and listen to “WHEEK WHEEK WHEEK!!!” for like… 20 minutes while not knowing essentially what the problem is. Through the past 2 years the biggest skill I’ve learnt is patience.
② Presence
Like how young kids need constant basic needs and supervision, so do guinea pigs. They are generally meant to be bought in pairs of 2, as they need lots of attention, but I didn’t originally know that. Now he is too evil/sassy to be around another piggy. LOL. Anyways… Since I only got him, I have learnt through loud lessons; very loud lessons; that presence is very important to basic needs of living.
③ Persistence
The definition of persistence is existing for a long period of time or continuously. Even on my gloomiest days, I still persevere to take care of my responsibilities. That is because I’ve learnt the skill of time management through keeping a daily schedule with Pickles.
Conclusion
I can proudly say, Mr. Pickles has genuinely taught me many transferable parenting skills for the future. Through patience, presence, and persistence, I’ve grown as a person and started my lifelong learning journey.
Parenting isn’t defined by species; it’s through how we show up over time.