School and music practice were over for the day.
Dinner was started.
And I just sat down on the back porch with a cookie (freshly made by Eden) and Prodigal God when I heard a little voice from around the corner, "She did it mom. Stella got the chipmunk."
I looked up and there it was.
He held it out like an offering. An offering fit for a mom.
"I just hope he went to heaven and not the other place. You know, the opposite of heaven."
True sadness in his eyes.
"Can we bury him?"
Oh dear, my mind is racing. Wash your hands. Please don't bury him in my garden. Do animals really go to heaven? And where did you get that shirt?
To really understand his sadness you must know the prequel to today's death.
Thursday afternoon I stepped out of the house to see Justin with a silver ballet shoe in hand chasing Stella (the cat) who was chasing Chippy (the post-mortemly named chipmunk) around the green box. Round and round and round the green box. Turns out that Stella thought Chippy would make a good meal, until Justin stepped in and attempted to capture Chippy in a silver shoe.
Eventually he succeeded.
Cat 0 - Chipmunk 1
And one very happy boy who felt he did his duty in saving one the little creatures of the world.
Until today:
Cat 1 - Chipmunk 0
He saved the chipmunk on Thursday only to have it die on Monday.
One sad little boy.
Was it worth the effort to save Chippy on Thursday?, or was his death inevitable?
Hmmm ... maybe Justin should have just saved his energy and let nature takes its course.
Maybe.
Or maybe his efforts succeeded in giving Chippy one more weekend to live.
Oh dear, these thoughts are starting to resemble a season of LOST.
Must stop writing, we've got one very dead chipmunk to bury.
1 comment:
Heroism is a great habit! I don't think compassion is ever wasted as it becomes part of who you are. Most kids don't have that kind of empathy, it's complicated but amazing. Proud of you, Justin.
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