During a surprise early summer storm there is nothing like sitting outside under the shelter of cover, smelling the sharp musty drops of water as they pour down in sheets four feet in front of you. Neal and I ended the evening tonight as spectators of the first summer storm as it rolled in, sipping our glass of wine and enjoying the refreshing breeze the wind brought in.
If you noticed I said we ‘ended’ the evening. It is merely 8:30pm and I’m already ready to call it a day. This morning I woke up to my youngest, Seth, freaking out because something was wrong with Skeeter, his hamster. He has only had Skeeter for 2 months, since he purchased her for his 9th birthday in April. When Seth showed her to me it was obvious something was irreversibly wrong. Her fur under her chin was gone and her paws were spotted. Unsure of what to do, Seth was already insisting we take Skeeter to the Vet. Making a trip to the Vet was not in my plans for the day, but when you see your youngest with BIG pleading eyes you can’t hardly resist to go along with the plan.
We made the trip to Pet Smart and walked back to the Vet office. When we got up there the Vet Assistant had to answer the phone so I told Seth to go look at the other hamsters and such. When the Asst. got off the phone I quickly told him what was going on. He let me know they didn’t check hamsters (which didn’t surprise me) but I gave him the best “I’m a mom and you better listen and do what I say” face, asking him quickly to look at the critter and let Seth know there just wasn’t anything he could do. Seth came up right on cue and the Assist played it off pretty well. A few minutes later we were walking back out the doors and on our away home. Inside I felt guilty for tricking my son like this, but really, what could we do? There really wasn’t a Vet that would look at a hamster! I had already called and asked earlier.
Two hours later as I was on my way to go look for my office furniture (yes, I STILL don’t have my office set up!!!) Seth called frantic, “Skeeter is paralyzed!” What?? “What do you mean paralyzed?” I asked. My beautiful boy sobbed on the phone. It was the most gut wrenching sound I could ever hear. “I went to check on her in her cage and she’s not moving and she can only open her eyes!” He broke down into more sobs and I’m helplessly 30 miles away wishing I were back home and able to console him. I told him to check on her one last time and sure enough he comes back crying even harder, “She’s dead!” You would’ve thought he had lost his best friend. It was the most pathetic wailing I’d ever heard. Broke my heart.
Tonight, after Neal found a box and ‘buried’ Skeeter, Seth went to Mass early with me. He wanted to go into the chapel and say a prayer for Skeeter. “Do animals go to heaven?” Seth asked. Without hesitating I answered, “I’d imagine God has a very special place for all our precious animals.”
No one likes to see their child with a broken heart. This was a sad day.
And then Seth asked, “When can I get a new one?”
Hmmmmm…children are so resilient. 🙂
Blessings
Shannon