Grown up Gavin

Yesterday we lost our cat, Gavin's first pet. We tired our best to explain it to him, and we told him the truth.

He knew that Arnie had a "boo-boo" on his mouth, and he kept telling us that we were going to take Arnie to the vet to get " fixed" and "Medinine" to feel better. We told Gavin that the doctor would make him feel all better, and then he would not come home with us. He was going to heaven.

Gavin kissed Arnold goodbye before we left, and told us all that Kitty was not coming back. We were not surprised at all at how much Gavin understood. Gavin is a smart boy, thats for sure. Arnold was in pain, but when Gavin kissed his head, Arnold did not move and act like he was hurt. He just stayed still, and let Gavin pet him one last time...it was like he was pretending to be OK for Gavin. :(

When we came home, we did not have Arnold. Gavin told us "Arnie was sick....vet made him all better" and then he asked us where he was. We told him that Arnold died, and went to heaven. Just like all the other things that die...like the worms, pill bugs, ladybugs, and snails. (Gavin knows they "die" ) So Gavin took it all in, and then told us that "Arnie is gone, we can't see him anymore...he feels better" Again, not surprised at how much he really understands...

We are so thankful that Gavin is still young enough to not totally understand the pain. Its just black and white to him, and we are thankful that he does not feel very sad. We knew we needed to tell him the truth, and we did.

I guess this was Gavin's first real lesson in death....we tried so hard to protect him, yet also let him see the beauty of being happy. He knew Arnold was not happy, and now we can all talk about how Arnie is happy in heaven.