I never really thought about it until now—Chubs, the family pet, is what brings my family together. This new realization just makes me go “ah-ha” and “wow.”

Traditional families say “the dinner table” is what brings families together, but mine is far from traditional. We’re quite dysfunctional. But this fluffy bird with a cool mohawk is what brings my family together. We all love him. We all interact with him, and in turn, interact with each other through him. Small things like watching him do his silly antics together, or laughing at him while he is trying to mimic our laughs. Sometimes when there is an awkward silence or an argument, I can always turn to Chubs for a moment of relief. More than once, he’s actually been the ice-breaker between family members. For example, if I am angry at my brother and time has passed, we have this unspoken truce. We start speaking to each other again. What breaks the ice is Chubs. We’ll both watch him, or talk about him, and that marks a new start in our relationship.

It’s really weird, I know, but I already admitted that we are a dysfunctional family. Who needs dinner tables when you have a cockatiel, right?

PS I made cupcakes! They’re the first batch that actually look okay and are EDIBLE. haha.