Anderson Misses Our Cat Beanie. What Can I Tell Him?

 

What do you tell him?

Last night I was wondering why it was taking Anderson so long to get his pajamas on. When I called to him he finally came downstairs and gave me a huge hug. That’s not unusual at our house, thank goodness. I told him he looked taller and that we should measure him. When I brought him into the lighted doorway where we measure all the kids I noticed his face was splotchy. I asked him if he felt ok and he said he had been crying. I said let’s measure you first and then we’ll talk about it.

He grew a quarter of an inch! That made him feel a little better!

When I walked him back to the kitchen I asked what was making him cry. He said it was Beanie.

Our cat Beanie had to be put down a few weeks ago. Anderson had the opportunity to give her hugs and kisses a few days before when I brought him to his dads for the weekend. I told him that Sunday that Beanie had gone to Heaven.  He was sad but he said he still had his stuffed ‘Beanie’ that he made at the Benton Family Fun Park a few years ago at Teddy Mountain. There were no tears just a nod of understanding then.

Now, two weeks later, the tears started to flow. I asked him what upset him so much and he said that he missed her.  He looked up at me with his big brown eyes and looked to me for an answer.  

What do you say? I missed her, too.

I told him the only thing I could. And this is what I said:

 "I miss her, too, honey. But she is no longer in pain. Remember when I told you that when we die we go to Heaven? Well, when we get to Heaven, we are no longer in pain. We are happy and perfectly healthy. You know how Beanie was so skinny and she had a hard time lying down? Now she has more weight and no pain in her whole body. She is perfect. She is chasing butterflies and rolling in the grass and taking naps in the sunshine outside. And she is up there with Brad’s hamster (He passed away Saturday of natural causes)! This way the hamster won’t be alone.

 We all miss her but the most wonderful thing is we always have her in our hearts. And we can think about her anytime we want! And you have your stuffed ‘Beanie’ that you can hug anytime you feel you want to hug her. When we die, which will be a long time from now, we will see her again. Right now she is looking down at us from Heaven saying “Aw, they miss me. I miss them, too. But now I can look after them and help them if they need it.”

 We will always love Beanie. It’s okay to cry. Just remember, she is happy and with God and lots of other cats and dogs playing in Heaven. We can still say goodnight to her in our prayers…and she will hear them."

That made him feel much better. I took him upstairs to my closet where I keep my old photo albums. I found a picture of her and we put it on his wall. He said “This way I can see her every day!”

Death is a tough subject to talk about with kids. Whether it is a pet, a relative, a friend or even someone in the news, you just have to be honest with them. Kids aren’t stupid. They figure things out pretty well.  Tell them it’s okay to cry. It’s a natural thing to do. Always remember they are gone but not forgotten.

So, give your dog extra scratches on its belly, your cat an extra pet (before it turns on you at the drop of a hat to say ok...that’s enough!) and even your hamster a few extra minutes in the little car it can roll around on the floor in before you put it back in its cage. You never know when they might have to leave us. They love us just as much as we love them. And we will see them again.

A Mother's Work is Never Done...Even When She's AT Work!

We moms have a lot to do. It begins in the morning with making the bed, making breakfast, laundry, dishes and so much more before heading off to work. For example, reminding the kids to brush their teeth in the morning. In Summertime, sometimes kids are forgetful. Wouldn't you be with 3 months off to play? But, the dutiful and sometimes overbearing moms we are, we don't let them forget.

We're just being moms.

Well, last night as we were all getting ready for bed, Anderson poked his head over the railing and he had a blue object in his hand.

Last week, Aunt Wendy was able to stay with the kids while we were away on our honeymoon. And Aunt Wendy is tons of fun! I had left her a few certificates to take the kids to The Fun Park in Benton as a way to get out and not have to be home all the time. While there, they played mini golf, the batting cages and rode the go-karts. Inside they have Teddy Mountain where you can make your own stuffed animals. That's where Anderson got his stuffed Pumpkin and Beanie, who look like our cats.

While at The Fun Park, they stopped at the claw machine. Wendy had just enough money for each of them to take a turn. Brad went first and, unfortunately, couldn't grab anything. Anderson got lucky, though. He won a light blue rhinoceros! And he has slept with it ever since.

Last night, that blue object in his hand was that rhinoceros. He asked me to fix him. You see, the rhino had a hole in the back where the stitching had come undone. I told him to toss it down and I would fix it for tomorrow.

This morning the rhino went to work with me. And with help from Kathy at the front desk and Barbara down the hall, we came up with a sewing kit and needle. While spending 1:32:08 on the phone (most of it on hold) with an insurance company trying to get claims paid, I took out the kit and sewed him back together. It was a great stress reliever. It can get very frustrating when you work so hard on a patient's behalf and the insurance company can't seem to see what you're seeing. Luckily, the rhino was fixed and the rep was able to help me in a big way.

I can't wait to see the look on his face when he sees the little blue stuffed animal come through the door, all fixed, like new and waiting for a hug.

A mom's work at 4:45....shall be done. At least for a little while....