I didn't work or go to school due to my autism, so I spent the whole 6 years with my baby. By the time we got him he was 14 years old. He and I fell in love immediately. Though he was aware of his surroundings, since it was a new environment, he immediately was playful and sweet. He was always outside of the cage since I was home 24/7. He was a little rascal with a mischievous side. He would try to catch the toy I had in my hand and attack me playfully. If I tried to leave the house or someone in my family does, he would fly to them so we wouldn't leave. He was very aware and curious, looking around to see what we are doing or eating.

The first month I got him I attempted to put him to sleep early, around 8 p.m, but he was very spoiled, not wanting to go into the cage until very late. It must've been because my mother, who he really loves, arrives from work in the evening and cooks and listens to music in the kitchen. He loves pets and would fly to my mom, the fridge and me. He would eat carrots, broccoli, nutriberries, mangos, apples, bananas, yogurt, burritos, green peas, all sorts of yum yummy! If he hears the fridge open he is flying straight at you!

But most of all he loves his cardboard! Each and everyday, including the day he died, he would tear apart cardboard and go crazy! After tearing it apart he would kick all the scraps and get super fluffy, to which I would respond with a big kiss. He would chirp, beep, squawk, BEEEEP, and do small sounds.

The first 3 years I would put him to sleep in the cage. Since I lived in a condo with my family, it was hard to get him his 12 hours of uninterrupted sleep. I would move the cage around our house finding a good spot to put him in. I remember leaving him in awewee the bathroom and my mom waltz in and woke him up. It was a nightmare until I decided that he should sleep on me with my boxfan on sometime in mid year 3. I knew how dangerous it was for birds to sleep on owners and get squashed, and I'm not exempt. I would sleep with my brother who we share a bed with, and though all it takes is one mistake, it never happened thank god. Still, I have my regrets that I wish he slept with me since day 1.

I would always spice up our routine. In the mornings when I'm held hostage I would find a way to turn normal days into special days , always trying to make each day special. I would color with him, play peek-a-boo (he can say it too!) and just play around. If he was sleepy, I'd play a sleeping birdie playlist just for him and kiss him, though sometimes he was grumpy and would nip me. I was his whole world most of the time, as my brother works, my father and mother work, and my sister goes to school. Though they all interact and play with him, I'm his whole world, so I knew to always make him happy and make silly faces or dancing. My family members all take a part too! My mom is the only one who can hold him upside down and cuddle with him! My father gives him kisses and he loves me brothers scratches.

It's sad but it took until year 2 for me to get the idea to shower with him. The first day he showered he actually went into and showered with me. I made sure there wasn't too much water hitting him and he could breathe right. Even though it seemed like he enjoyed it, it would be the first and last shower he ever did with me, as in he would still join me perched on top with steam hitting him, but never entering with water hitting again. He preferred baths than showers!

This was his set routine generally every weekday. Wake up around 10 a.m., eat with me, take a shower with me. Around 1 p.m. he'll stop being groggy and start chewing cardboard, playing, flying around. Around 3 or 4 p.m. he'll want to take a nap, and around 5 or 6 he'll play with my mom and I. When he's not up to playing he'll sit happily perched on the fridge or his cardboard holder and loves watching my mom cook. He'll sit, chew more cardboard, and then off to sleepy time at 10:30 or 11:00 p.m. Even with this general routine, I always tried making each day special and do something unique for him, living each day like it was our last.

He was a crazy birdie. He'd love to go on top of the fridge to his hidie hole and get fluffy (probably thought it was his nesting spot when he's hormonal!) He sometimes would be on the floor trying to attack my mom's toes. He loved to not only tear apart cardboard, but use his feet to kick it too. He knew when we were about to leave the house, and would fly on stay perched on us so we would stay. He would fly to us when he heard the fridge opening. When he realizes he's been left alone he would screech and cry and fly to our rooms until he's found us.

He used to go outside with me in his travelling cage to a corner of the neighborhood, all nice and quiet. To be honest I didn't know if he liked or not, since I had to nudge him into his cage, but I did it so he could get sunlight. One day, however, his foot got stuck between the perch and the walls of the cage and he was traumatized since, never wanting to go inside the cage again.

His diet was parrot seed mix, pellets (ranging from roudybush to harrisons) and fruits and veggies. Broccoli, Carrots, Bananas, Strawberries, and Mangos were his favorite but some fruit took repeated attempts for him to like. He LOVED nutriberries, though I rotated to senior nutriberries and he didn't like that. He was a sweet "beak". Though it wasn't healthy, he loved ice cream, strawberry yogurt, and anything sweet.

Here I list my regrets. I wish I bought you more toys. I wished that even on days that I wasn't my best that I still strived to make it special. That my body didn't nag me and I didn't need my walks. That I introduced you to more songs. To more foods (in a way it backfired since eating a specific pepper made you go to the bird clinic) I wished I could have hugged you more. If I had known you were going to be gone that day, I would have taken you outside without any cage or leash and be free flying. I wished my brother and sister and my father gave you more attention. They all loved you, but I wish they gave as much love as I did. I'm sorry I was too annoying at times and I should have left you sleeping instead of kissing you repeatedly. Even birds have bad days. I wished I didn't sign up for online university on your last months. I would have used the time studying to play with you like we used to. We still played, but it wasn't ever like the first couple years. And of course my biggest regret... I wish I trusted my instincts and took you to the vet when I realized you were sleeping more often than usual... You would chew cardboard less. You used to go for hours and now the longest would be 2 hours. At first I thought something was wrong, but my mother chalked it up to you getting older and I believed her since you would be like your old self when my sister showed up.... I never knew you would have a cancerous tumor hidden. Despite all the pain you hid, you played and pretended nothing was wrong, showing your strength and endurance.

Now that he is gone, my house is quiet. Everything around our house we did together. All our rooms have been used to play. I would place him in our closet on the ground so I would run and he would follow me. I would use our mirror in the bathroom to call him a pretty birdy. I'm sorry Michael... I always loved you. You were my whole world, and all of us were your whole world.

Reunite with your
previous owner, Michael, at the Rainbow Bridge. She is waiting for you there to reunite and play once more. All of us will be with you eventually. Have fun and enjoy heaven Michael. No more stress, no more pain, no more sadness. You can fly anytime anywhere. Spread those wings and fly Michael! We love you!