Goodbye, Friedrich

This Christmas season was not without its sadness. After nearly two years of wondering if I was really allowed to have a bird in our apartment but being too afraid to ask, I finally succumbed to my conscience. The answer was not what I had hoped for. Alas, I am not allowed to keep my fine feathered friend, and so I sadly began looking for a temporary home for him.

After asking a half dozen people who enjoyed Friedrich and wanted one just like him, we were having a hard time finding people who were really able to keep the little guy until we get out of school (a year and a half). Finally, we found a friend who already has two parakeets that can give him a home for us. She lives back in Iowa, though, and so we brought Friedrich with us home and dropped him off with her. It was a sad day, and I tried not to think about it too much so I wouldn't cry. I succeeded. Mostly.

However, upon coming back to our apartment and spending the morning unpacking and putting away groceries, I began to miss him quite a bit. It's awful lonely in that apartment without him. He used to fill the quietness with his pretty whistles and warbles. Now there is just silence. I keep thinking I hear him chirp or grind his beak contentedly, and I begin to call out "Hey, Freed!"...but then I realize he's not there. Now there's just a large, empty spot on our computer desk, and it makes me awful lonely for him. I need to find something to put there. Suggestions?