The Rabbit

I took Rene out tonight to go to the bathroom one last time. In the gutter downspout right by the front door was a rabbit, with it's little paws stuck in the ice. It was so frantic trying to pry itself loose but it couldn't. It would show itself, then try to run up the spout, all the while it's little paws stuck.

I don't know why but when animals are helpless, I feel helpless, too. Flash back to the time Mom and Dad had a bird stuck in their fireplace. All the boys-Dad, Robert and Mike-were not around. Mom called me…"Melanie, there is a bird in our fireplace! What do I do?" I went over there, and indeed there was a bird, um, in the fireplace. I had no idea. I remember frantically making calls to animal control and such, and finally the bird made its way out of the fireplace and flew out of the chimney.

Or the time Robert and I took a hitch-hiking chipmunk inside the rim of my tire from the Black Canyon to my little Montrose country home. It just shook, scared out of its mind. I remember making sure Ches and Stan didn't come outside until the little chipmunk got a grip and dashed away; I didn't want the boys to see it for fear of pouncing on the poor little creature.

Tonight, I didn't quite know what to do. I couldn't just leave it, but I didn't want to try and touch it for fear of getting bit or some sort of rabbit fever. I called my neighbor Wyetta and she came down with a cupful of warm water. She threw it on the rabbit and it got loose and scrambled up the gutter. "Hmmmm," She said. "That is the second time a rabbit has entered into my life recently." And she went on to tell me about a friend whose dog wanted to bring his rabbit prey into the house for dinner.

I decided to look up the meaning of the rabbit. Here is what I found, according to www.whatsyoursign.com:

"Symbolic rabbit meanings deal primarily with abundance, comfort, and vulnerability. Traditionally, rabbits are associated with fertility, sentiment, desire, and procreation. Rabbit meanings are also closely linked to the seasons, the changes of Mother Earth, and specifically Springtime. Have you ever heard the term "madder than a March hare?" It has to do with rabbits going bonkers around this time of year. They feel the call of spring just as strongly as everyone and everything else - perhaps moreso. Creatures of all kinds feel the tremors of springtime's return and respond to it in wild courtship. It's a celebration of life, and bunnies bounce right back into the swing of spring. 
All of us know the power of population the rabbit has - they are legendary for their ability to reproduce fast and furiously. For that same reason, the rabbit is a perfect symbol for this spring which is fertile with themes like: New life, New beginnings and the undeniable current of growth. The rabbit is also a symbol of Ostara, an ancient fertility goddess whose symbols are rabbits, various flowers and eggs."

Neither Wyetta, nor I, of course are pregnant or hoping to become so. We both, however, appreciate symbolism and making meaning of our lives. Both of us were excited on January 1st to start a new year, and my own journey is taking me to my 40th year of life, so I see lots of hope, promise, possibility for the future, and glorious springtime just around the corner. Freeing the rabbit perhaps has some symbolism of its own, maybe freeing my own spirit to be open to possibilities of whats to come!