Monday, November 15, 2010

Baking and hugs.

Today I feel so sad, so flat inside. Like a weight is in my chest. My kids are upset and I can do nothing to change it.

We had a hot day yesterday. It was about 30 degrees in the morning and the kids wanted to swim in the pool. They put their three Guinea Pigs in the wire run on the grass to get some exercise and then they jumped in the pool. As I sat and watched the kids the sun got warmer and warmer and I threw a shade cloth over the Guinea pig run to take the glare off them. After about an hour and a half I got the kids out of the pool and we headed inside. The kids stopped to put the guinea pigs back in their hutch and found that their beloved Jaffa was dead. The other two guinea pigs were very limp. We carried them into the house and gently dampened them down with tepid water and tried to revive them. We held Splodge and watched her move around and thought she was going to be ok but over the next few minutes she died in our arms. The littlest guinea pig who was Splodges baby was also very weak. Over the next few hours we sat with her and cooled her down and tried to feed her drops of water from a syringe. She refused all food and drink over the next 4 or 5 hours before finally eating and drinking tiny amounts.

All through those hours we had tears and questions, sobbing and hugs. We searched for reasons why they had all been so badly affected by the heat. Most Australian summers days get to 30 degrees and more and yet these guinea pigs had been with us for almost two years without any problems. Maybe because it was the first warm day this spring and they were just not used to it? Maybe it was that they were getting a little older?

Watching the kids bury the guinea pigs in the back garden with serious red eyed faces was heart breaking. I know that they were "just" pets but to our kids they were very special. I know that it is teaching them about life and death, about the feelings that go with it and how to work through them. But right now I would pay any money to take that sadness out of their eyes. To have waved goodbye to them in the school yard this morning without watching tears spill over onto their cheeks again. Not to have had to give another big hug, whisper more words of "it's ok" into their ears. Not to be sitting here in the house looking at our one surviving pet hiding in the corner of her hutch, refusing to come out and be cuddled. Refusing fresh slices of apple that would normally cause a flurry of squeaking and jostling to grab them from my hand.

I'm dreading the school bus pulling up. I want to see smiles on their faces again. I will do what I resort to when I don't know what else to do. What Mums all over the world do when they want to make everything ok.

Baking and hugs.

xoxo

P.S: Three tiny fingernail sized paper guinea pigs made by Rhiannon last night.

10 comments - click here to leave your comment:

  1. I'm so so sorry. I pray God will give comfort to your kids tonight.

     
  2. I'm so so sorry. They're not "just" pets. I still remember burrying my first hamster when I was around 6 years old. It's a hard concept to grasp as a child. Praying for comfort.

     
  3. Oh Gina, I am so sorry that has happened. I could not believe it when I was reading your post because the very exact thing happened to me as a child. As I read, my heart sank because I suspected your story would end as it did and the emotions I had as a child came right back to me. Remembering the sunny day and thinking how fun to let them be outside with us. Amazing how affected we are by our pets and how hard it is to lose them. Hugs to your little ones, tell them I KNOW just how they feel.

     
  4. This is heartbreaking! :( All my love to you and your kiddos...

     
  5. Oh Gina , I feel for you ... How very sad for you all .. and as you say , something that you cannot do anything about ....Your children know that too.. but they do have the love of their lovely mummy :-)

     
  6. I'm so sorry to hear about the passing of Jaffa and Splodge. I can sympathize with your children...I have lost pets in my lifetime and it never has gotten easier...they are extensions of your family. My thoughts are with you and your family...may time heal your broken hearts.

     
  7. Oh Gina, I am so sorry. It is so difficult to see our kids in pain. No words right now. Thinking of you all. Praying for the littlest to perk up. Sending you hugs from Texas, xo,Gina

     
  8. Aw Gina that is heart breaking. I am so sorry.

     
  9. Oh Gina, I'm so very sorry. They're never "just pets," it's a very real loss. My thoughts are with you & your children.

     
  10. Gina, I was so sorry to hear of the loss of your smallest family members.