Although I’m sure everyone clicked through to hear about everyone’s favorite sitcom that is not what I’m writing about, however, I am a huge fan so if you do want to chat about Friends the show just let me know. This is about two rather unlikely friends named Margaret and Pearl. Margaret, we believe is five although no one can seem to remember except the nine-year-old, so we are not completely sure. Pearl is around ten and the two seem to have a budding friendship. They were standoffish at first, but the limited options might be bringing them together.

Their friendship seems to make sense. They are both moms, but Margaret’s children are no longer around. Pearl recently had triplites although, she is only mothering two of them and the third is being fostered. They both have an affinity for scraps from the garden and their hobbies are almost identical.

As you may have gathered from the picture Margaret is a cow and Pearl is a goat. Pearl is on loan from a neighbor as we were looking for a companion animal for Margaret. We felt bad having her in the field alone and decisions on the “farm” led to her being our only cow. We were unsure how the two would get along or if they would interact at all but after about a week, they appear to be gaining an affinity for each other. They are both very sweet so we thought it may work out, but friendship is a complicated thing.

While we have been paying attention, it wasn’t until Lindsey posted an Instagram video of the two that I really started thinking about the situation. The first thing that struck me was just how important companionship is. There are some solo animals in the animal kingdom, but most animals partner up in some way. If companionship is so important to a cow that they would go kick it with an old goat, then how important must it be to humans? The second thing that struck me was just how different a cow and a goat are compared to any two humans, yet humans have a horrible time getting along.

I think we should take some lessons from Margaret and Pearl. First off don’t discount how important companionship is and I don’t think digital interaction is a sufficient replacement. Get out there and interact with people and make a point to spend time with people, it’s good for the soul. Secondly, we all need to stop worrying so much about our differences and pay more attention to what we have in common. If a cow can make friends with an old goat, then I don’t see any reason why any two humans shouldn’t be able to get along.