"It's fun to dig a hole, but not to bury the cat."

       First of all, a big thank you to those who gave us such warm words after Luna died.  In the last post I never really explained what happened  But Luna had run outside and we didn't grab her and drag her in like we often do at night.  Instead, I called for her to eat and she didn't come running.  Kenny went to get her and found what looked like a sleeping Luna in the road without a scratch on her.  He brought her in and of course, you can imagine my denial.  I wanted to take her to the ER vet immediately because she looked so peaceful, but she was gone.  Later, I told the kids that she just got the breath knocked out of her and she just didn't didn't have any more to live on.  It's just the weirdest thing.

       The most touching response came from a little neighbor boy, about 11-years-old who came up to me last night while I was unloading groceries.   Apparently, he was riding by on his bike Friday night and saw a white, fluffy cat in the street and wondered if it was ours.  I told him it was and how much we cried about her and he said, "I cried a little too because I love that cat.  She always came over to the park and played with us.  I'm so sorry."  Such a sweet kid to say that to me.

Funny, his response was so  much more sympathetic than the kids.  Actually, more sympathetic than Kid 1 and 3.  When we told Lydia, she cried, but not because she just loves animals but because I was crying.  Empathy comes easily to her.  But Elijah, not so much.  Here was the discussion that transpired  when we broke the news.

Mom:  Elijah, we have something very sad to tell you.
Elijah:  What, did Radley die? (He's a 16-year-old cat.)
Dad:  No.
Elijah:  Luna?
Dad and Mom:  Yes, and we're so sad.
Elijah:  Wow, Radley sure has been through it all. (Because Radley has now out-lived 3 cats we've buried.)
Mom:  Yes, he has seen a lot.
Elijah:  Can we get a dog?

Later, Kenny asked Elijah if he was sad.  He said he was, but he just didn't cry.

Lanie's reaction was similar.  When we shared the news with her, she had so so many questions but she ended with, "I didn't want Luna to die.  But at least we still have Radley."

The burial on Saturday was a family affair.  The girls helped dig the hole, found a dead worm and then gave it it's own burial.  We were very into funerals.  My favorite line of the day came from Lydia:  "It's fun to dig a hole, but not to bury the cat."  She is right about that.  In fact, double bummer when Kenny was digging the hole and he cut a cable wire.  It's always something.

But the funeral was nice.  They threw in a cat ribbon and I grabbed some cat nip.  We said a prayer.  I cried, which Elijah didn't like.  He never likes to see me cry.  If we're watching a movie and there's a sad part, and he hears me sniff a little.  He will get close to my face to see if I have tears.  He just does not like it.  Makes him uncomfortable, I guess.

But despite the half-hearted initial reactions, these past few days I've heard, "oh, I miss Luna," or "Luna used to always do that," or "Radley misses Luna."  We are all feeling it.

Since kids are resilient and don't know how to hold on to hurt, the big question has already been forced:

"So, when can we get a new cat?"

Geesh.