Caroline has been campaigning tirelessly for a pet lately. Of course, with us being so close to leaving, a pet is really out of the question. She knows, as we have told her, we absolutely won't be getting a dog, cat, bird, hamster or fish not knowing where we'll be next and not knowing when exactly we might leave Germany. But she is taking it well and with her characteristic humor. Along that vein of sarcastic humor, I suggested she might like the baby spider currently residing in the corner of the ceiling in our bathroom (We've named him Oliver). No she says, he's too hard to find.
A snail then? I suggested.
"No, Mom. Snails are notoriously slow to respond when you call them."
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