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Saying Goodbye.....Again

We knew the little critter was sick, our active little hamster became quite lethargic.
Remembering how our last encounter went when dealing with death, I suggested we take it to the vet for some medical relief. I know what you must be thinking....a rodent to the vet? Well we did. If I could spend a few bucks to prolong this critters life and stave off the tears for a few more days, well, it was worth it. The vet did give us some medicine to include in the water bottle, and it probably gave us a few additional days to prepare everyone for impending doom.
We did something this time, in our effort to prepare the kids for yet another funeral in the backyard. We talked at length about impending death, and that death is apart of this world we live in. What do we teach our kids when we know death is imminent for something/someone they love? We prepared them to say good bye when the animal was still alive. They all got to hold him, pet him, feed him, and talk with him a bit before his death. Then, we all decided on a boy's name for the hamster (we thought it was a girl all this time). We all settled on Chester. It all seemed to give dignity to the little guy, as well dignity to the event of death.

Thanksgiving night the animal was barely moving, barely breathing and it seemed he wouldn't make it through the night. All the kids got the opportunity to say goodbye to Chester as I knew the morning could bring the truth of death into reality for them.

Sure enough, Black Friday had all new meaning in our home the day after Thanksgiving. The kids found our little Chester curled up in a ball bright and early. They once again made little crosses to include in the box, they decorated the box, and HH dug a hole in the back. My son, 7 years old, this time, led the prayers for Chester, in serious, noble fashion. They all shared their most favorite times with Chester, and this time, only my emotional 9 year old daughter cried a bit.
Truly the difference this time was how we were able to prepare them, educate them, talk about death in very real terms, and teach them how to say goodbye. These are the ways to bring about these very real topics on a micro scale. One day, people they love will die....we all need to know how to say goodbye, remember the life they left behind, and truly give dignity to the event of death.
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