u/lizardassbitch

heyyy im a young artist (25) and wondering if other artists in the area are ever interested in doing some sort of weekly drawing group or something?? or if anything like that exists?

i love to draw and create but im usually alone when i do it and would love to meet fellow artists and creative people :)

i've been unemployed for the past few weeks and have tried to take at least a walk every day so i don't lose my mind. on my route i usually encounter this guy, and he's so nice and runs right up to me to be pet for a few minutes and then goes about his business. i always look for him and he makes my day! if you're linus's owner i love your cat and he's such a good boy :)

this time i took the advice of a moderator and bought a sculpey glaze. it's so much better than nail polish! thanks reddit :)

i used paint markers for the design and sealed them with a top coat of nail polish ;)

fair warning this is long and i'm sad and have a headache and this is just what i needed to express. with that being said...

my boyfriend and i have owned rats for the last 5 years. when we first got stinky, we didn't know what we were doing and learned as we went. we went from glass aquarium to a 2 story wire cage. we realized we couldn't have just one rat, and soon after brought home pinky. but it was when we brought home a little rex rat named kenny that we started to know what we were doing. me, dan, and our rats stinky, pinky, and kenny. the beginning of the rat journey.

shortly after we got our fourth rat named pretzel, stinky had to be euthanized. i was distraught because i felt like i hadn't had hardly any time with him. it felt unfair and i was angry. i paid $500 for a vet to come to the house and put him down. in hindsight, yeah, it was definitely overkill, but i loved stinky so much and i wanted him to pass peacefully. i cried all day and night. i felt like i was in a fog of grief. the other rats helped me through it. i had to be strong for them.

i've gone through many rat deaths. in my experience, it never got easier. sometimes it was more anticipated, it got less shocking, i mentally prepared myself, and it was still heart wrenching every time i had to make the call to say goodbye to a being i thought of as a child. stinky, pinky, kenny, biggie cheese, pretzel, taylor jones, johnny cashew milk, pierre, pancake, bowie, and bill. what a privilege it is to know and love so many creatures.

today our rat journey ended with bowie and bill. both were nearing 3 years old, bowie was suffering and bill was old and had a plethora of health issues. we decided to let the final two go together.

coming home to the empty cage with poop and pee and food and half eaten raspberries is devastating, somehow more devastating than the euthanasia. the finality of life. the end of the cycle. 11 rats lived and grew and some died in that cage, and here i am sitting on the floor, looking at the static remnants of the years of rats.

so now that im at the end of my rat journey, i look back and i'm thankful. i have learned to appreciate life so much. life is so fragile and fleeting. rats have taught me that so much personality and life can be within such a small and unassuming body. and even though i'm done owning pet rats, i'm so glad that there are so many more people who love and care for them. from babies to adults to elderly rats dragging their butts around their cages.

thank you for this community and teaching me so much. thank you if you read this whole thing. thank you for everything over the years. and thank you to my lovely rats.