I have a rule that nothing else that needs to be fed or poops is allowed in my house.

Right now we have six kids, two adults and two big dogs that live here. That’s a lot of food and a lot of, well, that other stuff. Last summer I broke that rule when I allowed dog #2 to enter the house. The rule is back in force now and kid #1 was told no he is not bringing home a cat, kid #2 was told no he can’t save his money to buy a parakeet and when kid #6 asked for a bunny for Easter, well, I kinda sorta said maybe.

I didn’t just say maybe, I became obsessed with getting the kids a bunny for Easter.

Now, before I get slammed with comments about how many bunnies are bought at Easter and then given away, how irresponsible it is to buy a pet just for a holiday, etc – relax. Read back a few paragraphs. Any living creature that enters this house gets very well taken care of and doesn’t get kicked out when I get bored. Geez, I haven’t even threatened to kick out the teenagers. Yet.

So I decide a bunny is a wonderful idea and I begin making plans. I even drove down the road where there is a guy who sells chickens, rabbits and ducks to see how much a rabbit cost. (It’s the South, people sell all kinds of things on the side of the road).

I called my husband to verify he could have the hutch built in time for Easter.

Him: Why am I building a hutch?

Me: Because we’re getting the kids a bunny for Easter.

Him: Why are we doing that?

Me: Because I want to.

Ohhh, there it is. I want to. I want.

So much for living the yoga. That pesky second niyama is rearing it’s head again. Santosa – the practice of contentment. Instead of being content with my already full house, I heard the word bunny, bunnies are cute, I want a bunny!

If I were to take an honest look around the house, almost all my possessions fall into the “want” category. I wanted this Mac I’m typing on, I wanted that yoga mat, I wanted the new puppy and for a brief while I wanted a bunny.

In Holy Cow, the current Twitter Yoga Book Club selection, an Indian man explains to Sarah why Americans always want so many things:

“We Indian people, we look at the people more poor, more low, more hard than us and we be thanking God we are not them. So we are happy. But you white peoples, you are looking at the peoples above you all of the times and you are thinking, why aren’t I be them? Why am I not having that moneys and things? And so you are unhappy all the time.”

There will be no live bunnies in our house this Easter. Instead I am content with the animals we have now. I don’t need anymore.

Now those chocolate bunnies – I can’t promise santosa alone will keep me away from them!