Farewell Friend.

It was a sad day here.

I am 35.
I never had a childhood pet. As soon as my kids were old enough to talk, they begged me for a pet. Sometimes they wanted a pony, and other times they wanted a T-Rex. As they grew, the pet argument got real, and plausible.

I ran out of excuses.
Me, not being an animal lover, and also, not willing to be the feeder/groomer/walker/cleaner-upper of a pet for a lengthy amount of time, compromised on a Guinea Pig. The pet store assured me that this pet would be a kid-friendly one, low maintenance, and best of all...life-span five years.

We had a family meeting, and each child submitted a name.
We voted, and "Fluffy" joined the family.

Mikayla was not even a year old.
Fluffy would sit on her lap, while she pet and prodded and giggled.
Fluffy got lost once under the couch, and the kids laughed their butts off trying to get her out.
Then there was the day Brendan came booking it back into the house, out of breath, Fluffy tucked under his armpit...he was SURE that the seagulls circling the house were VULTURES and were salivating at the fat tender morsel that was Fluffy.

Mikayla took her on many walks around the block in the "trunk" of her tricycle.
She survived on her own while we went on vacations.
I was never alone in the kitchen making dinner. Every time I chopped onions Fluffy would "Weet! Weet!" from her corner pen. She never liked to eat the onions, just liked the smell, I guess.
She was more of a celery gal.

Anyway, Fluffy kicked it while we were at church today.
I knew it was coming, she has been in bad shape, not wanting to eat, or "Weet!" or even move much. Her breathing was shallow last night, I knew it would be soon.

We had her funeral today.

Jayden was the first to start crying.
Mikayla was beside herself, poor thing.
I never realized how much a pet can be a real part of a family.
I dug a hole in the rose garden.
All the kids wrote little messages, and put carrots on her little box.

And then she was gone.
Five years was too short.
The kitchen is quiet.

And I am missing a silly little ball of fur.