Birds of a Feather or Something Like That

Last week, we had yet another family tragedy on my husband's side. I never realized how truly melo-dramatic they are until my SIL announced she was getting married. Now, another tragedy has occurred.

My mother-in-law's pet bird ran away...I mean,it flew away.

We gave her that bird as a birthday present last summer. She had been wanting one ever since their last one died about 10 years ago. It's a yellow cockatiel. She gave it the same name as the last one - Okame-chan, which basically means "Mr. Cockatiel."

Last week, I got a frantic phone call from my husband saying, "I have something really shocking to tell you, are you sitting down?"

I thought, "Oh god, now what?!"

"Okame-chan flew away. He's gone! My mom is so upset about this."

I know that pets are really important to people, and if my (future) dog ever runs away, I will be engulfed in guilt and sadness. However, I couldn't help but feel a little bit "unconcerned" in this situation.

Suk said she felt guilty because we are technically the owners of this bird. I quickly corrected him and reminded him that Okame-chan was, in fact, a gift to her and that she is now the owner. I suggested we buy her another bird, but that this time we should go with the much cheaper model - the $15 kind of bird that can actually learn to talk. (Being that always lament over the fact that Okame-chan will never be able to talk, this seemed like a good solution to me.)

He doesn't like this idea, and since he suffers from a serious case of Oedipus Complex (aka mazakon), he wants to rush out and buy her a new bird exactly like Okame-chan.

Meanwhile, the abrasive sister-in-law's reaction to the whole thing went something like this, "You idiot! You might as well just dive off the balcony and kill yourself."

I do think that is going a bit far, and if I am concerned about anything in this situation, it would have to be Mother-in-Law's psychological state after hearing something so horrible come out of her own daughter's mouth.

Can buying a replacement bird pull her out of this depression?

Shouldn't we tell her to buy it herself, rather than take it out of our own savings? Isn't that what you would do when a child loses his hamster?

I know that option would not go over well with Suk because he is such a Mama's boy. He thinks he should pay her back all the money she spent on his college education. But, that is a story for a another entry though!