Wednesday, April 9, 2008

Saying Goodbye

You may not have noticed, but I had to change our headline. Tonight, we are minus one family member; our hamster died today. This may seem trivial to some, but we are very sad. He was Nikki's first pet for which she was the primary caregiver. And he was very, very sweet (unlike most hamsters, he didn't bite). He was also a two-time Hamster Ball Derby Champion!

In the hamster world, two years is a long life span. Sandy was 2 1/2. He had been declining for a couple months, and about five weeks ago we had to move him into a hamster nursing home because he lost mobility in his hind limbs and was getting stuck in the ramps and wheel of his other cage. But Nikki, undaunted, moved him into a ramp-less, wheel-less aquarium, lowered his water bottle so he could drink while reclining, and continued to minister to him. Each time he would get a little worse, we would think, this is it. And then he would prove us wrong. And even though she knew this was imminent, she fell apart when she came home and found him dead.

Coincidentally, her friend in school also lost his mother to breast cancer this weekend. So I'm not sure how much of the trauma is due to the expected death of her first pet, and how much of it is due to tragic development at school. Also, my parents just lost a dear friend who passed away two weeks ago at the age of 100, and Nikki was with my mom when she went to say goodbye right before he died. Even though she knows that, in all three cases, death was an end to suffering and poor health, she's a sad little girl tonight. Imagining Jesus welcoming them home does little to alleviate the ache of missing them.

So tonight we remembered Sandy, and Marisela, and Bill. We said prayers of thanksgiving for their lives. And we reminded ourselves that we will all be together again where there is no more pain, sickness, or death. Amen.

1 comment:

TAMI said...

You are a WONDERFUL mother ~ giving your children a legacy of service, passion and love.