I don’t mean to brag or anything, but I met the love of my life the other day. It was totally unexpected. Just a lil bit of background. Historically, my love life has been not so…bountiful. I had the one boyfriend at the tail-end of high school, went on that one date from Tinder this year of college, and then there’s the (still) unrequited crush on a guy from my Shakespeare discussion section I had second-year. (Nick, if you’re reading this, I promise I’m not creepy.) So, all in all, Cupid’s got some wonky aim when it comes to me. But the other day, he aimed true, and it hit hard.
This past week, UVa’s University Programs Council (UPC) held a mini petting zoo in the school’s Amphitheater, provided by the owners of Teeny Tiny Farm. I stopped by it on my way out of my last class of the day. It was near closing time but there were still a good ten minutes left to show my affection to all the critters. There was an adolescent calf, some rabbits, an adorable six-week old piglet, a sheep, an alpaca, some goats, a miniature horse, and….a donkey. *sighs wistfully* It was love at first sight.
It might not be conventional, but I find donkeys pretty attractive. It might be the hair that gets me. Well-groomed facial and head hair is a major plus. Or it might be the adorably long face and long ears. They at least show that he’d be a great listener. There’s also the fact that if I ever get tired from walking, a donkey can always carry me the rest of the way.
Though I was smitten the second I saw him, it was clear my infatuation was not immediately returned. After some attempts at scratching just in the right spot on his neck, he eventually left off chewing the grass and leaned toward me a little. Not much, but I took what attention I could get. So as not to forget his beautiful figure, I asked someone to take a portrait of us.
Just look at his coat! So pretty!Photos Courtesy of author, Photo Credits: random girl I asked
I think we would have been a cute couple.
Soon after this, both my greatest sorrow and greatest joy happened. The animal handlers had to load the animals up to leave since it was closing time. I was enjoying some more scratches of my love when the handler came and asked me if I wanted to walk him. *squeals* Um, yes I wanted to walk him! The handler gave me his leash (all of the larger animals were leashed and pinned to a stake in the ground) and I got to walk him to the trailer. It may not have been a romantic sunset walk on the beach but the 20-yard gravelled walk from the Amphitheater to the trailer behind it was a lover’s paradise to me. Other people got to walk the other large animals, and we were all enjoying ourselves immensely. The goats liked to run ahead and pull on their leashes.
So, love may miss me from time to time, or be holding off for a better time (fingers crossed). But for me and Donkey, it hit hard. I’ll see you in my dreams, mi amor.