RIP Peanut

Hard, sad lessons are part of life, even if you are only eleven years old. Today, Maddy's little hamster passed away. He had been acting sick for the last few days. It was heart wrenching to watch him look like he was in pain, disoriented and suffering. The adults had many texts, quiet conversations and moments of, "My gosh, what do we do???" Maddy knew he was sick and she cried herself to sleep the last two nights. In the scope of life, it is easy for adults to pass this off and not get so upset. I mean, it was a hamster, not a cat or dog!! But, here's the thing. She loved that hamster and we love her! Her pain is our pain. As any parent knows, watching your child suffer is one of the worst things imaginable. You desperately want to take away their pain and often cannot. You feel helpless.

When her dad got home from work today, he confirmed that Peanut was gone and proceeded to take care of him. I found a beautiful box that I had no idea why I was saving, but today I knew why. It was the perfect size and shape for a tiny coffin for Peanut. Pa and Sean both agreed that the sooner we buried him, the better for Maddy's sake.

 Every time I hear the Charlie Puth song "Only One Call Away", I think of my husband. In the song, Charlie sings:

I'm only one call away
I'll be there to save the day
Superman got nothing on me
I'm only one call away

Well, that's our Pa in a nutshell. He rescues all of us on a regular basis, both big and small. Here he is digging a grave, making sure it is deep enough and placing a block on top so no animal can dig it up. Maddy's girlfriends heard about the hamster and came over for the "service", complete with flowers in hand! Such a sweet gesture. Maddy learned another lesson today. Girlfriends get you through a lot of things that happen in life. Maddy couldn't speak, so she asked me to say a few words. I hope I said the right ones. We thanked God for the joy he brought Maddy and that he was no longer suffering. We shed tears and we hugged each other.

Marley even showed up for the funeral. He may have only been looking for lettuce, but I want to believe he was holding vigil for one of his own animal brothers! Now here's a pet! This tortoise will live to be over 100 years old and will surely outlive us all.
No need for his funeral. He can show up at mine!!
RIP, Peanut