I had an interesting experience a few days ago that some of you “older” members might get a kick out of. I was standing in line at a second hand store where I had purchased an aquarium that I planned on cleaning up and using for my snakes. An older couple in front of me, and when I say older I mean they were probably in their late 70’s to early 80’s, turned and smiled and said, “Yes, we remember when our kids went through the pet stage and we had an aquarium”. I smiled and said, “my kids are all gone now, this is for me”, to which they replied, “oh, you’re going through your second childhood”. We all laughed and then we parted ways. As I began to think about what they said, I wondered why it is assumed that a person only enjoys pets, other than maybe a dog or cat, only when they are “a child”. Do you find your acquaintances raising their eyebrows because you are a “pet” person (not to mention a snake person)? It is like others expect us to “grow out of” enjoying pets! Why would we? Pets to me have been a constant in my life since I can remember. Why would it be assumed that it is just a childhood fascination? Any thoughts on this?