Pet Funeral

Last night was hard for the kids - (mostly Mel, Hyrum, & Wes).  Before the kids got home I checked on Oreo and the 3 girl guinea pigs and was surprised to see he was looking really bad, like "verge of death" bad - the kids got home and the drama quickly swept through the house, and then he seemed to be doing a little better, then a little worse, the evening passed and kids did homework and tried to carry on as usual ~

Time to get ready for bed around 9:00 and Oreo was declining fast and seemed to be in the death throws, kids were understandably sobbing, we held a viewing in the Lego room where they each had some time to go in and tell him anything they wanted to say. 

We read some scriptures from Moses 5 about knowledge - that's what we are here on earth to experience ~ good and bad, joy and sadness. We get to love pets, like we get to love babies and each other.  But for us humans the joy is one half of a whole - cause joy comes with sorrow, happiness comes with sadness.  We wondered:  "How come Medusa and Twix and Hamlet (our other 3 guinea pigs) don't seem to care that Oreo is dying?  They aren't sad, why?" They don't have knowledge.  When Adam and Eve ate the fruit, they were signing up for opposition.  They had great joy in their life and in their children, but also great sorrow - sorrow and joy come together, we humans can't have one without the other.  Medusa doesn't have joy in her baby guinea pigs like we all feel in our hearts from Sophia, right?  They've got some animal instincts that get them through things, but we have got knowledge, or are in the process of getting it.  Lily wasn't sad, and kept telling Mel "Don't be sad, the bad guys not get us!" And also, interestingly enough, little sensitive Abi didn't shed a tear - she's just bounce into the room and in a perky voice ask "Is Oreo dead yet?"  and then bounce out and continue playing with her toys.  Go easy on your siblings, Abi, a little more gentle comments please... 

So, after our lesson the kids were calm but Mel was positive she wouldn't be able to fall asleep, but we put on some calming "Peace Like a River" MoTab music, and after getting them in bed and Sophia asleep, I went in to check on him and he was gone, so he was officially pronounced dead by me at 11pm. 

Today I spent 2+ hours trying to dig a deep hole in the back yard.  Didn't make much progress until the kids came home and cute neighbor Brox went and got a pitch fork.  Made great progress after that.  As the young men and I dug the hole deeper, the kids wrote letters and prepared his casket (box)

Abi's note (with a portrait of him and his favorite vegetables on the blue post it notes) that she put in Oreo's box/casket cutely stated "REREO DEDU REREO U TU BE ULFE - Translation: Oreo Died Oreo Used to Be Alive

Hyrum's note.  The other kids didn't want theirs published.

I conducted the services, Mel said the prayer, then we interred Oreo, returning him to his mother earth.

And the headstone we made.

He really was a great little guinea pig, he was so sweet.  We'll miss him. It's better to have joy, even if it's comes with pain.  It is better to have loved and lost than to have never loved at all.I'm grateful we had him and that my kids were able to take care of him and love him and learn about life and death and that they are being so brave.  Goodbye Oreo, we love you.  See you again!