So Long Richard

I know many of our readers often wonder "How is Richard doing?". It is with a heavy heart I announce the death of Richard. Richard died on 6-19-08 at approximately 1:00 pm. After his surgery in March, he lost his battle with hamster old age.

Our house has been filled with drama regarding Richard's death. We had days of angst as Richard's health worsened. Kennedy had to call everyone and have them tell her about when their pets died and reassure her she was a good hamster mom. Lori and I had to check on Richard regularly. Almost all conversation in the house was about Richard and how he is the best hamster ever. We went to the park to try and escape the grief. We look and see Kennedy holding center court with all the kids at the park about her hamster's death. Other children shared their hamster death stories and before long it was a support group for hamster grief. By the end, they were all drinking coffee and talking about the steps of grief.

We buried Richard tonight with our whole family and some friends. We all had to pray for Richard. We put rose petals in his box and all the kids placed dirt on his grave. We have closure.

As we were gathering grave side, Gormah looked at us and asked "We are having a funeral party for a hamster?" . It was a weird concept for her. We understood. Yes. We are having a funeral party for a hamster. Gormah showed a lot of tenderness during this. Considering her lose, the death of an animal was no big deal, but she rolled with it. She placed dirt on Richard very gently, held Kennedy's hand throughout the "funeral", helped pick the flowers and continually hugged her.

It must of worked because after everything was said and done Kennedy asked for cake and a new pet. Ahhhh, life goes on.