My mother’s laughter rings out in the living room:

“Chandler is spying on us again.”

My mom is not suffering under the delusion that we are being stalked by a certain fictional Mr. Bing; she is watching our new gerbils and mocking their odd behavior.

Chandler and Joey found their new home in our living room a few weeks ago, snuck into my house from PetSmart with the aid of a friend of mine and presented as a surprise for my mother. They came to us tiny, barely more than babies and excited about every new thing that crossed their path. Since then they have begun to adjust to their new environment and learned how this home works.

The learning has somehow been mutual. Small creatures though they may be, Chandler and Joey have some wisdom to share with us giant humans. They find excitement in everything, immediately jumping for any food or chew thing we put in their cage and attacking it with rigor. I strive to do the same in every opportunity presented to me. Joey can be a little lazier, but even he leaps up from his numerous naps for a chance to add a little extra happiness to his day.

Chandler, on the other hand, is a persistent little devil. He climbs around the cage, constantly attempting to chew his way through the bars. He has never successfully chewed through metal, of course, but his dedication is admirable. Plus, whenever he chews, he shaves down his teeth, which prevents them from growing too long and hurting him. Whether or not we achieve our goals, persistence is healthy and ultimately beneficial, perhaps even unbeknownst to us.

Which leads us back to my mother and her concern about snooping rodents. While we are looking away, the gerbils tend to climb up onto the higher section of their cage and watch us. My mom was concerned, afraid that I had taken home gerbil spies. I pointed out that perhaps these little gerbils, now perhaps adolescents but certainly not yet adults, were watching us because they wanted to learn. We have since caught them moving their lips in ways that mimic human speech and they have figured out when they should come to the front of the cage to meet us for food.

They never cease to explore or repress their curiosity. Chandler and Joey never miss a chance to gain knowledge nor do they ever seem to lose their sense of wonder, despite the fact that all they have to observe is our living room. We can venture outside. We can explore more than just a room. I am finding it harder and harder to find reasons that I should be learning less than the caged gerbils sitting near my window when I do not have to chew my way out of my home. I have the key.