An older pet teaches a kind of love a younger one can’t
Early note
Early guess, unsourced. This note is early and still needs a specific story.
I think an older animal teaches a kind of love that a younger one rarely does. They arrive with their own habits and limits, so I can’t shape them to fit what I want.
The lesson in the mismatch
That mismatch is the lesson: I had to meet the animal where it already was, not where I’d hoped it would be.
What I’m still working out
I’m not yet sure exactly which lessons those are. I’d like to add one specific story, and I should say plainly that a younger animal might teach me some things an older one can’t.
