I have a friend who has a special talent for matching people with the animal to which they look the most similar. After meeting somebody, she will announce afterwards- “She’s a peacock.” “He’s a penguin.” “She’s a cross between an alligator and a meerkat.” And no matter what she says, you think about it for a moment, and realize she is exactly right. He IS the product of a three-way between a badger, a mongoose and a baby seal. Of course, I couldn’t resist asking her the all important question, “What animal am I?” She wouldn’t tell me. “Come on,” I insisted. “I won’t care.” “Ok,” she said reluctantly, “You’re an owl.” Huh. “It’s because I have dark circles under my eyes, right?” “Don’t worry,” she said, “I’m a rat.” And she’s right- she TOTALLY is.
Ever since, I have made it my business to embrace the owl. I have a little owl statue, an owl pillow and an owl lamp project in progress that will be completed sometime after Mazzy goes to college. But lately, I’ve noticed I’m not the only one who is embracing their inner owl— owls are popping up everywhere in nursery decor. I think they are a welcome break from the traditional warm and cuddly animals you tend to find in babies rooms like bunnies, sheep and monkeys. Owls are quirkier, wiser and much much cooler. Even if your baby more closely resembles something else, like say… the spawn of a duck-billed platypus and a rooster.
hljlj;
kjhk
Owls in top visual clockwise from left: pillow from Enna, burp cloth from The Gypsy Wagon, rug from Urban Outfitters, sewing pattern from Etsy, poster from allposters.com
lhl
Huh. That’s a rare talent. Think I could bribe your friend to come to MA to tell me my animal? I’d buy her dinner. Unless of course she told me I was a cat, at which point I’d force her to buy my dinner plus three desserts (for the cat-related depression).
Worse than a cat would be a ferret. That would mean you looked like a cat person who branched out in the ’80s.
I can relate — I’ve long been told that the owl’s the animal I most resemble. My husband’s pet name for me is ‘eule’ (pronounced OIL-uh), the German word for….you guessed it. Anyhow, having been born in the early ’70s, I grew up with very primitive-looking toys and decorative elements that were, in true back-to-nature, post-hippy style, no more than mere outlines of animals. Owls figured prominently, now that I look back on it. I suppose as they are a) a relatively easy shape to replicate on wallpaper or stitched into pillowcases, and b) symbols of wisdom…what parent wouldn’t want their kids to benefit from the presence (and maybe the imagined counsel) of a wise animal? Many years later I learned that owls are actually pretty mean-spirited….
You know, they really are much cooler than bunnies. I neither rent nor own a child and yet I would like all these owl items pictured. Except the onesie. I’m pretty sure I couldn’t fit in to that.