remembering Macaroni

i already miss her little face in the mornings. i automatically wake up and start talking to my weasels and checking on them. now i'm short one. but i'd thought i'd focus on the things about her that made me laugh.

- she wasn't the brightest crayon in the box (especially compared to Simon who is a little genius.) she once got her head stuck in a chair. the slats were wider up top where her head fit but narrower at the bottom. she couldn't figure out that all she had to do was lift her head to become unstuck. poor Maroni.

- she did these weird barrel rolls for no reason as she was scampering about. the first few times i saw her come to a stop, do a roll, and then keep running, i thought she had an inner ear problem. but it turns out, she just liked to march roll to the beat of a different drum.

- she loved to stretch. she'd do it all the time. her little hind legs would extend out, and her little toes would stretch far apart. it made me envious of her ability to maximize a good stretch.

- she had snaggle teeth. some people may not know, but weasels are meat eaters and therefore have teeth that look like dogs' and not like rodents'. even with her mouth closed, Macaroni's little canine teeth stuck out. and sometimes she slept with her tongue hanging out, too.

- she hated getting her annual shots. she's let out a big squeal every time they stuck her. who can blame her? the needle was bigger than she was. and every year she bit the vet in protest.

- she was not a morning weasel. it took her a long time to get up and out of her hammock. if you open the cage, Simon comes bounding out ready to conquer the world. she would lie there and take a long time to get going. it would take a lot of stretching and thinking before she mosied out of bed.

- all weasels steal, but Maroni was a klepto. i'd find her stashes all over the place. once i saw her trying to steal a wired controller to a Playstation 2. she pulled and pulled with all her might, but she couldn't get it. it never dawned on her that it was hooked up to something. and she'd carry things way bigger than her from shoes to purses to pillows. i'd bring her to work, and she'd scurry across desks and yank the straws right out of peoples' drinks. she loved adding straws to her collection of stolen goods. all of my flip flops had little snaggle teeth marks in them, and if i couldn't find something, chances are it was in one of her favorite hiding spots.

- she loved to hide underneath the kitchen sink. she was so tiny she fit through a little opening. and even the weasel collars on the smallest hole were too big for her so she was always losing them under there. if anyone tears out the sink at that apartment, they're going to find a lot of little red collars with bells on them.

there are so many more things i loved about her. i hope she's in weasel heaven barrel rolling to her heart's content. if anyone is interested, we will be mourning her death this weekend by going to Furr's and eating macaroni in her honor. she would have liked that, i think.