A Death In Our Family

It is with a heavy heart that I have to report that there has been a sudden death in our family.

Jerry has been a part of our family for 3 years now. We adopted him when his original family gave him up. There were just too many siblings for them to take care of. He was the most energetic one so they gave up on him.

Once in our family though, Jerry's energy was viewed only as him having an unlimited curiosity and a thirst for exploring his surroundings. We saw him as a boundless happy youngster and he never failed to put a smile on our faces when we saw his bright eyes sparkle with joy. He was always neat and clean, and for the most part, quiet as a mouse.

Jerry loved taking naps during the daytime but unfortunately, that only translated to awake time during the evening hours. Allison sometimes said that Jerry kept making noises and running around at night. He didn't sleep near our room so I didn't notice the ruckus. Although he loved daytime napping, Jerry was never nasty when you woke him up to play. He would often sit with Allison on her desk when she did homework.

Jerry lived a full life of 3 years with us. As you can probably guess now, Jerry is not a person but a gerbil. We still consider him as part of our family. 

There is only one thing left to do now. WHO WILL DISPOSE OF JERRY???

Allison? ......She claims that she is too heartbroken to even look at his cage. Hmmmm. Really, now.

Harrison?........ He claims that it's really not technically HIS pet and most of the time, Allison doesn't even let him play with Jerry, so why does he have to do the deed? I see his point.

Mother? Are you serious? Why do I have to be stuck being the one to search out a small cardboard box, fill it with fluffy tissue, position the deceased rodent so it looks like he's in eternal rest, and place a tissue on him like a blankie? Do I have to go out by myself to the yard to dig a deep enough hole to place said rodent in so racoons or neighborhood cats don't dig him up and have a meal? Can't imagine Jerry parts spread all over my front lawn. And besides, I've already packed away one of Harrison's previous hamsters. The other one was never found in the house. Makes me wonder sometimes...

I was tapping away on my blog when Allison came up to me.
She said brightly, "I got someone to do it for me."
"Who?" I asked. There was only 2 people she could've finagled to do it for her. Harrison, by bribery, or.....
"Baba." We both said at the same time. 
Hmmmm. As I recall, I did hear her dialing the phone a few moments ago.

Somehow, dead rodent duty is always delegated to the dads. You want to be the man of the house? You want to be king of the castle? You want to be head of the household? Well, there are just some things you need to do then. And being pet mortician and grave digger is one of them. Good luck, and remember to sanitize your hands before you come back in for dinner. And when you sit down for dinner, your family will look at you with adoring misty eyes and acknowledge that once again, Daddy pulls through for the family. 
RIP, Jerry.  <sniff, sniff> There will never be another.