When I was 5...

Tasha 
When I was 5, all I wanted was a dog. I begged. I pleaded. I tried to bargain. It was just not going to happen. Instead, I got a bird. A beautiful white and yellow cockatiel that of course had to be a girl because at that age, everything was female, and so I named her Tasha. Tasha came with my to my first grade classroom for show and tell. My "talent" was that Tasha could lay on her back upside down in my hand. Poor Tasha. Every single little germy hand pet Tasha and she let them...even the teacher, the evil Mrs. Hibbison. At 12, Tasha came with us as we drove across the country. She loved sitting behind the back seats and watching the drivers behind us. They would point and wave and my dad would cuss and yell, hoping they would pay attention and not rear end us. When I was a teen I brought home my first real boyfriend and wanted him to play with Tasha. Tasha promptly bit him. Even so, I stayed with this boyfriend for a year until it ended sourly. My junior year, I brought home another boyfriend. This time, when Tasha bit him, I dumped him two days later. After college I met a boy who I knew would be "the one" and because of him, I moved away from home and from my beloved bird. My mom sent pictures of Tasha, and the dog I had acquired shortly after high school. After a year I brought home my fiancé and low and behold, Tasha did not bite him. She allowed him to pet her and he taught her to whistle.  My Tasha already said her name and a few other things. I thought this was sufficient but soon listed to whistling day in and day out for months. Years came and went. My husband became an ex-husband. I moved in and out several time. The only constant in my life was my Tasha. Five years ago I acquired some cats. They live outside but come in at night to the garage for shelter. One day I found a little parakeet in my cats mouth. I grabbed the cat and shook him and yelled so much he dropped the bird and went running for the rafters in the garage. This is how I acquired Lucky, the little green parakeet. Lucky came to live in a cage next to Tasha and Tasha loved Lucky. This is how we found out Tasha was not a she, but a he! He sang to her, whistled to her, taught her the ropes, and even started making love to his perch (I imagine with her in mind). So my Tasha boy fell in love and stayed Tasha because at 26 it's just too old to have to learn another name. Today I woke up and my Tasha was not doing well at all. His eyes won't open all the way. He isn't alert. He doesn't know his name. My Tasha is dying and I'm devastated. He's been with me through nearly all my life. We raised each other, my bird and I, and now, I must learn how to say goodbye to my baby bird, because our kids will always be babies in mom's eyes.