Life Lessons From A Pet’s Passing

Posted on July 29, 2009 
Filed Under Parenting, Personal

A few years back, we had an incident in our family that I thought illustrated the importance of seeing the world through a child’s eyes. As parents, we need to be reminded of the things we can learn from life’s disappointments.

She was so excited. It was a special. Her very own pet! Ah, but the lessons of life were to be learned all too soon.

“Science is Fun” is an event helping introduce the joys of scientific discovery to youngsters. My first grade daughter was pleased to attend this year. It became a very special field trip because of the pet “Little T” brought home.

A common earth worm, in a small plastic cup of dirt. That was her “pet.” Came with clear instructions on how to care for the thing, and equally clear directions to release the worm in our backyard after a week.  Ecologically correct, I guess. My first grader couldn’t be more pleased. Her very own pet for a week! She was so proud to have her own…worm. Hey, we didn’t mind, because worms aren’t really a high-maintenance kind of pet.

My wife put that little pet into the Suburban’s cupholder. But Little T couldn’t leave it alone. “I want to check on my worm, Mom.”  We had to pass that cup back for her inspection numerous times as we drove home.

“Wormy” had a place on the kitchen counter. Throughout that first day, Little T checked in on him (her? it?). Unfortunately, the next morning my wife noticed a conspicuous lack of water in the cup, and a corresponding lack of meaningful movement. Uh-oh. The worm had passed on.  “Gone to meet its Maker.” In only 24 hours, it went from healthy-as-can-be to deceased. This would be hard on our little girl.

My dear seven year-old daughter cried. Her little pet worm had died. This was heart-breaking! And this was precious to see, to be there so we could guide her through the emotions. Through this incident, I think she learned a bit about the need to care for our pets, and how to take on responsibility. I think she learned that that life is short. Well, alright, maybe she didn’t learn those lessons completely, but this sad passing probably did help her start to grasp the bigger picture of life. That’s something every child has to come to terms with, eventually. Better sooner than later.

I guess it’ll be a stop at the pet store tonight to see if I can buy a replacement pet. And I can’t wait to see her face when I bring her a new…worm.

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