We lost a member of our family this morning. Turtle was the first pet that Dora and I had together. We got her at the Topsfield Fair in 2001 -- we were living with Mary and Bob and the time and Mary felt bad that I was far from my parents, so granted permission for us to get a rabbit.
Turtle was a bit of a reject ... she was supposed to be a dwarf and well, she was a touch on the large side so she was not headed for the breeding program. At that time Mary and Bob had the chocolate store, and we all know they were famous for their turtles...and given her chocolate and caramel color, she was christened Turtle.
Turtle was the first of our cohort of quirky animals. A faithful companion -- she was the only of our creatures to live with us in each of our homes together. As the years creeped along, Turtle got grumpy and set in her ways. Weighing in at 6ish pounds she could bully Lucy away from her bed with one thump.
Turtle was 4 when Arden arrived. Arden didn't really discover the joy that was Turtle until she turned about 2. As you will see from the videos I've included, she may have been cranky with us, but she was full of patience for Arden.
This is Arden's first lesson in loss, and she's processing. Out of her mouth before school this morning:
- 'I don't think she's dead, I think she's just sleeping in until 10 today.'
- 'She is just cold, she needs a pillow and a blanket.'
- 'We need to sail her to New York so the doctors can look at her lungs. Someone must have smoked near her.' (There has been talk about the crime of cigarettes in our house lately, that it turns lungs black etc.)
- After whacking her cage with her microphone stand while I was upstairs...'Mommy! I think her eyes moved!'
- 'Can we get another rabbit? We can name her Turtle too and then our family will be complete again.'
- 'Maybe she just needs a friend. Maybe we should just get her a friend.'
So. Processing.
We're processing too. Dora is, unfortunately, away on business this week and I had to tell her just before a big dinner meeting. I think it will hit us all at unexpected times over the coming weeks and months. Like when I went to grab a drink this evening and I looked at her stash of stuff and realized we have an unopened 25lb bag of her food in the back of the car.
Here are a couple of videos from when Arden was around 2. I hope they work, I had a bit of trouble figuring out how to share them. I just think they so accurately describe how wonderful she was with Arden. We were very, very lucky.
http://s276.photobucket.com/albums/kk32/ArdensMommy1/?action=view¤t=60000.mp4
http://s276.photobucket.com/albums/kk32/ArdensMommy1/?action=view¤t=3777-60361-0.mp4
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