To Make a Short Story Long......

For many, many years our policy on pets was "no". Very simple and to the point. No. Then, last year I was having a difficult time coming up with ideas for Kiersten & Reagan's birthday. (yes they have the same birthday...two years and twenty minutes apart) I turned to my husband for help. An unusual occurance since his enthusiasm for gift giving is very, very, very subdued. He rather quickly said, "hamsters". That'll knock their socks off. And well, it did. Until they both died. It's okay because they were still under warranty and they store replaced them. The girls recovered quickly. There wasn't time for the emotional attachment to occur so that life lesson didn't make a real impact.


It has now been seven months for said emotional attachment to occur. After much "reminding" to clean the cage, and many joyous moments showing their hamsters to anyone who would care to see them, all has been well. Until two weeks ago. After a busy weekend I sent the girls to bed that Sunday night and Kiersten came back bawling. Smudge was curled up in his little house and wasn't moving. After one poke, honestly with hamsters that's all it takes, I made the offical call, time of death 20:18. Unfortunately, I have no photos of Smudge. I thought we'd have more time.


Kiersten is so tender hearted I knew she would take this very hard. I found some beautiful music for her to listen to while she struggled to sleep that night. The next day I emailed her teacher letting her know what had happened. Bless her for keeping Kiersten very busy running errands that day. Kiersten came home and didn't want to wait for everyone else, so she preformed a private burial service for Smudge while I was at dance with Reagan. Smudge is buried behind a bush directly in front of Kiersten's bedroom window.


This last Saturday was a beautiful day. Mike and I were working in the yard, and the girls were playing outside. Kiersten had two friends over. I decided that they had had enough unsupervised time, so I walked to the front of the house to check on them and saw only one little girl. (our new neighbor) I asked where the other two were. She told me behind the bushes. I knew exactly what was going on. The two girls came out from behind the bushes. Kiersten told me that she wanted to show where Smudge was buried. Bologna! Kiersten is tender hearted, but she is a creature of great curiousity so by now you know what she was doing too. She, and her friends, have discovered that a two week old dead hamster still looks like a stiff, sleeping hamster, but it smells REALLY bad.


I'm not one to "toot my own horn", but I must say I saw this coming. Not only that, I know that Kiersten was hoping to see a pristine, delicate, pure white, skeleton of her beloved hamster when she opened that box. What she got was a big whiff of reality.

Kiersten wants another hamster.