This is not a post about the dish, Ratatouille, and it’s only sort of related to the Disney film, Ratatouille, but there is a connection. I think it will make you smile, and I feel like we could all use a smile.

I was so sick today that I just barely got by today. Apparently, I really can’t people anymore, but I also got some really bad news about my brother yesterday. I thought we were going to lose him. He’s a survivor though, and he is a little better today and awaits surgery. I am thankful, And, thankfully, I have so many good things in my life that I am feeling better this evening. One of those good things in my life may be a bit of a surprise–it’s a mouse.

In May, I wrote about the little deer mouse my teen son rescued after a bad rain storm. The mouse was tiny and didn’t have his eyes open yet. I told my son not to rescue it, but when I went to bed that night, I heard my son in the kitchen banging around. When I went downstairs to see what he was doing, I found him making a “mouse formula” recipe he had found on the internet. And, there, in a shoe box, was a little mouse–barely alive.

My son set his alarm and fed that baby mouse every two hours. When I woke up the next morning, I went to check on things, couldn’t believe that mouse was still alive, and told my son to rest, that I would take over for a shift so my son could sleep. I fell in love with that little mouse immediately. My son named him Jeremiah. Jeremiah and I have been very good friends since May.

At first, I got creeped out every time Jeremiah ran up my arm. His little feet are like velcro, and he moves oh-so quickly. Now, I am used to him, though I still panic a bit if he tries to get into my sleeve. Thankfully, he doesn’t do that very often. He knows me well, and I know him well. We seem to have an agreement about what I am comfortable with and what he’s comfortable with.

Over the summer, we realized that Jeremiah was just too lonely, even though we carried him in a travel crate every time we took a long trip, and we got him a friend from Petco. We now have Cynthia, who is a fancy mouse, meant to be food, I suppose, but living her best life with Jeremiah, who adores her.

This is where the movie Ratatouille comes in. I really knew very little about mice,, but between my research and my son’s research, we gradually figured out how to be good mouse caretakers. However, I think I have learned the most by observing Jeremiah. The first time I saw that little mouse fall asleep with a piece of homemade wheat bread in one hand and a strawberry from our garden in another, I knew Jeremiah was a foodie–and my mind immediately went to Ratatouille. I remember that rat in the movie always wanted good food.

So one of my missions every evening is to deliver some delicous food to Jeremiah and Cynthia. Jeremiah is a fruit man. He loves all the berries. Like me, he has a hard time with store bought berries unless they are just a really good batch. He grew up on the garden, so he’s pretty picky. Right now, he’s very happy with pomegranate though. Cynthia is more of a carbs girl. She loves homemade bread more than I can say. She will take a piece of bread right out of Jeremiah’s little hands.

I have learned they don’t really like carrots. And cheese. They don’t like cheese. So much for what I learned on Tom & Jerry growing up. Apples are “mid,” as my son says, but sunflower seeds are a favorite. Tonight, I had fresh bread Ron had made and some leftover pomegranate seeds.

It had been such a rough day that I just pulled up a stool and sat and watched those mice for a long time. They are so sweet and so loving to each other. Of course, I don’t want our home overrun with mice, and I am always thankful for the owls and our kitties (we have to be super careful, by the way with the kitties). Still, I am also thankful to get to know these tiny creatures, especially Jeremiah. He’s very expressive and so full of personality. I had no idea!