Butterscotch's Sweet Slow Lane

Butterscotch, a buttery-yellow American guinea pig, did everything at half-speed. Her eats were slow chews. Her walks were ambles. Her popcorns (rare) were more like gentle hops. She wasn't lazy; she was deliberate. She savored. A pile of hay wasn't food; it was a sensory experience to be sniffed, tasted, and burrowed into over the course of an hour. A sunbeam was an invitation to stretch out and bake, eyes closed, for an entire afternoon. She taught us to slow down. Her cage is now just a space, missing its master of mindfulness and slow, sweet living.