Good-bye, Little Fellow......

We've had a very sad few days around our house, as our wild robin, Patch, has passed away. He was doing so well, but Wednesday morning, James found him dead on the bottom of his cage.

We've all been effected by this. It's amazing how only 12 days with a little animal can leave such a mark on you! We've all been very sad, but for poor James it's been devistating. He had put his heart and soul into taking care of Patch, and now he's suffering so. It's so very difficult to watch my little man lapse into silence and then tears, multiple times a day. I keep praying that this sadness he's feeling now will improve. I know that he must be allowed to grieve, but I had no idea it would be like this!

James and I have talked and talked over the past few days. He's so intellectual and can understand much at a grown-up level, but then the little boy emerges from his heart and the tears flow. I've told him that there were reasons that God brought Patch into our lives. I pointed out that there were lessons to be learned....look at how much we've learned in the last 12 days! But, at this point, it seems that perhaps Patch was brought to us to teach James a lesson of how to handle death. He said to me, "Mama, you would think that after having gone through this three times, I'd have it figured out!" (What he was saying was after having lost his Grandpa almost six years ago and our dog, Sadie, after that, that he felt he should have figured out death and dying!) It's such a tough lesson to learn and must be learned several times thoughout life! That's how I explained it to him!

To help him through his grieving process, we did a small funeral for Patch out in our backyard. Daddy very kindly found a box for him and dug a whole to bury Patch, next to our beloved dog, Sadie. We are now increasing our very own "pet cemetery". It's such a sad, sad business but seems so necessary right now. James made a grave marker for Patch and said afterward that doing the funeral helped him feel better.

And so, we're taking it day by day. The sadness is still very much there, as are the tears. This growing up business is so very, very hard!! Trying to convince him that we must move forward, is the hardest part right now. He will forever carry a piece of Patch in his heart, as we ALL do when a loved one leaves our midst. Finding peace with it all is so difficult, but I'm hopeful he'll be allowed to do that soon......

Rest in peace, little Patch! You've touched all of our lives!! We're so glad that we knew you!!!