How I Became Friends With A Crow

Three years ago, I became friends with a crow. Here’s our story.

In August 2017, the week we were packing to move, our beloved dog of 9 years unexpectedly passed. It was heartbreaking.

We moved to our new town, settled into our home, I even found a job I enjoyed.

That November I suffered an injury that caused damage to the nerves in my face causing Trigeminal Neuralgia. 
I had to quit my job not long after my injury and found myself at home, struggling with loneliness.

Since our house inside felt settled, that following spring I started to throw myself into making my yard feel more like home. 
Our last house I had garden beds full of my favorite flowers and I grew veggies, too. As I worked in the yard, I noticed that I was often being watched. I would say hello to the crow friend keeping an eye on me from the tree. As time passed, he moved to the fence to say hello. I tossed him some sunflower seeds and peanuts and told him he was welcome. He stayed distant at first, but always watched. As I worked in my garden, I would toss grub worms to him. He would snatch them then flee to a safer distance, but after a while he would just stay where the food landed and snack. As I worked to lay the flagstone, he decided he needed a closer look. He started following about ten feet behind me, inspecting every single stone, pausing to assess the new addition to the garden. I would talk to him, he always seemed at ease. His presence was a source of joy to my weary soul. As he would wander in the garden around me, though no one else was around, 
I never felt alone.

Over the past several years, he always seems to arrive when I am at my lowest. Days when I hurt, days when I am lonely. Some days he is obnoxious and needs attention, yes, but some days it’s as though he knows I just need a friend. He will sit with me in silence, wander my garden with me. On my darkest days, when grief from my many losses in life overwhelm, when the absence of friends causes a heartache, or days when the frustration of 
living with an incurable condition weighs heavy on me, he is near. 

I feel like he was sent to give me hope, to remind me even on the worst days there is still beauty to be found around me. 

Did I choose him? He chose me. And I am forever grateful.