I was around 10 when I first met the love of my life. He was this round fluff ball, commonly known as a Quaker Parrot / Monk Parakeet. It’s been 13 years and not one day goes by without me telling him how cute he is.
Some people say you don’t know what true love is till you have a child. To me, Babu, my little green fluff ball, will always be the first living being that has taught me what true love means.
He’s always been my “favourite brother” much to my human brother’s chagrin. If I could describe to you the ways he has been a source of happiness and been my emotional support over the years, you’d say he deserves the title too.
In 2019, I was away from home for one semester for University. I’d call my family in the mornings just so that I could see him using his beak to gnaw the front camera on my mum’s phone.
When Babu was younger, on some mornings, he would climb up the sides of my bed sheet and softly bite my fingers to wake me up. There was so much of his mischief that I enabled which my grandmother would always nag me for. But he was my baby and as noted, my favourite sibling, so he could practically get away with anything.
Babu turns almost 13 this year. He is much older and he’s gotten very frail. But man, he still brings me so much joy and it makes me tear up when I think about the ways he has changed my life by just being in it.
Early last year when we all had to stay home during the Circuit Breaker, away from any kind of physical socialisation, he was my constant reminder that there are still beautiful things in this world and that love has the power to motivate you beyond what you think you can do.
I worked from home for almost half the year and it was not easy. Seeing no one but your computer screen, feeling trapped in a room and losing track of time is not something pleasant. I’ve definitely gotten better at this work-at-home thing but there were times that I felt burnt out or even just broke down because of the many changes that were happening around me – around us.
He’d come to my working space and sit behind my laptop and preen himself or just be a cute little ball of sunshine. Occasionally, he’d peek from behind the computer and oh god, the way he melts my heart, the way he makes me forget all my uncertainties and for that moment remind me that I have the cutest little parrot in the whole world.
How is it that someone so tiny, someone who can barely speak (yes, not all parrots speak ?), someone who poops in any place he wishes bring you so much joy which you can’t even describe? I’m in a Facebook group with thousands of other Quaker Parronts, I follow so many Quaker Parrot accounts and Birb memes on Instagram. I’m that corny.
All because of a green chicken. I don’t say it as often as I should but having Babu has been my greatest blessing and being his parront will always be one of my proudest moments in my life. I’m sure everyone who owns a pet would agree with me.
I don’t say it as often as I should but having Babu has been my greatest blessing and being his parront will always be one of my proudest moments in my life. The joy that he has brought me can’t be measured in any form. I’m sure everyone who owns a pet would agree with me.
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