Life lessons

There are some things that you go through in life that, though are horrible at the time, mold and shape you into a better, more compassionate person, therefore, more Christlike. Some are huge life-altering lessons and some are just bumps in the road that most everyone experiences at one time or another. Well, Gracen just experienced one of these "bumps", although to her, at 12, it seems huge. And, it breaks my heart, as her Mom, to watch her go through it. For Christmas almost 3yrs ago, she asked for "something alive, something with a beating heart." YIKES, that grossed me out so bad, but Gracie is a major animal lover and she wanted something of her very own, unlike Maizie, who is the "family's" dog. She begged and begged for months for a hamster or gerbil or something along those lines. (I had to draw the line on lizards or snakes! YUK!) It was the only thing she wanted for Christmas. So, finally, I relented, and on Christmas Eve, we went to Petsmart and she picked out the cutest little black gerbil with a little white stripe on his chin. To say Gracen was ecstatic would be an understatement!!! She immediately named him "Pepper". So we brought Pepper and all his "stuff" home. What the people at Petsmart had failed to tell me is that gerbils are nocturnal! He would make the loudest racket at night...eating, running on his wheel, grinding his teeth on the bars of his cage, etc etc and sleep like a baby all day! Pepper wore out his welcome in a hurry, but Gracen still loved him, so he stayed. He actually had a very sweet personality. He would let you scratch him behind the ears, would come up and put his front paws on your finger and he never once made an attempt to bite anyone. I wasn't sure what the lifespan of gerbils was, but he thrived on the tons of love and attention he got from Gracen. We soon found his favorite food was sunflower seeds and he would take them right from your hand. It was so cute. Anyway, 2years went by and Pepper flourished and Gracen loved him...alot. The past few months I noticed he was slowing down some, not near as active at night, not eating as much and getting a little gray around the mouth. ( I could sympathize with old Pepper!) Well, Tuesday night while we were at the Athletic mtg @ school, Pepper passed away. Gracie has been devastated ever since, she just cries and cries. I try to make her feel better by telling her that Pepper led a wonderful, long life being loved and cared for by a precious little girl who has a God-given gift of tenderness and love for all animals. She wasn't buying it, she sobbed uncontrollably. She wanted to stay home from school Wed, but I told her she needed to go to keep her mind off of it. What really touched my heart about the whole thing was her brother, who normally bickers constantly with her and they never have a kind word for each other, was the one who gingerly removed Pepper from his cage and wrapped him up in a paper towel and dug the grave and buried him. It was so sweet, I was so proud of Barrett. What I don't get, however, is how cruel some kids can be. She called all her friends Tuesday night to let them know what had happened, since they were all quite acquainted with Pepper. They were all so kind, offering condolences, except one. When Gracie told her, she just died laughing and said "Get over it! He was just a rat!" I cannot even imagine being that cruel and cold-hearted and I am so glad that she isn't my kid. I'm thankful that my own children are kind and sympathetic, especially to their friends. Anyway, that is what we are dealing with right now. In the grand scheme of things, pretty insignificant, but right now, it is a big deal.