I hadn’t really given much thought to squirrels ever since that “squirrel wrangling” incident a few years back where we had to corral the little buggers that came down our chimney and into our living room for a little look-see.  You learn a lot about a person watching them deal with wild animals.  That’s all I’m saying….

My very enthusiastic pup, however, has quite an eye for our furry friends.   So as I was trying to keep her from dragging me after every one of them scurrying around the park, I thought I’d make productive use of this time and notice them.  Evidently they are not “one size fits all”, nor do they all behave the same way.  Some are overweight and frankly a bit lazy, while others are looking rather neurotic.  I saw one that was so thin and working furiously, digging to get or bury something.  I was imagining it as one of those overachievers, who also runs squirrel marathons, volunteers at the squirrel acorn kitchen and has a nest of little ones back home, all perfected coifed and well behaved.  I hated that one on sight.

So I started to imagine my clan as squirrels and how we’d be acting.  My middle son would be the one with the very cool fur, kicking around the acorns and chatting with all the cute squirrel girls.  If there is a squirrel Facebook, he’d also be on it.  My oldest son would have already found the best nest and would be in negotiations with the owner to take it over and planning the guest list for his housewarming party in the process.  My daughter – well, the only way you could tell her apart from the other squirrel teenagers, all with their straightened fur and squirrel Uggs (”Squggs” – and they cost more than just a couple acorns!) would be if she was with me.  I, of course, would have found the person who was handing out the food and would have figured out how to perform to get it.  When trying to share some of my booty with my daughter (the motherly thing to do, not that I’d want to give away any food, mind you…), she’d remind me that she’s allergic to nuts and go off to find a friend to hang with.  My fiance would be the squirrel chatting up all the other creatures in the woods.  If he fell down someone’s chimney, he’d probably find a way to chat with them as well.

The next time my dog starts chasing some poor squirrel up a tree, I’m going to have more sympathy for the poor thing.  It was probably just some Mom, trying to make it on her own, just like me.  Unless its that skinny one – then I’ll let probably let the dog have its fun.