When Junie B. first became old enough to name dolls, pets or other nameables, I was always surprised at what she came up with.
We had a plecostamos (a really ugly algae-eating fish with a sucker mouth, that grew from about 2" long to more than triple that over its lifetime) in our fish tank for many years. Junie B. named it "Metito."
"Why 'Metito'?" we asked.
"Because it looks like one," came the obvious reply.
She received a little doll from her Aunt at a "Christmas in July" party, as part of a family vacation honoring my inlaws' 50th wedding anniversary, when she was 2 1/2.
She named the doll, "Shadrach."
So, naturally, we looked forward to what she would name the pet hamster she got for Christmas two years ago.
"Elizabeth."
Elizabeth, an unassuming Syrian hamster, spent her nights tickling the ol' hamster wheel, and her days snuggled up under a pile of aspen shavings, in a cage in Junie B.'s room. She liked to roll around the house in her little purple ball, usually ending up stuck in the bathroom. Taking her out for a romp was a major event, and while she didn't do any "stupid pet tricks," she was very fluffy and cute, and she seemed to like to be near us. She never caused us any trouble, that's for sure.
She even humored us during our study of the Minotaur, and our reading of Ralph S. Mouse, by running through (and on, and over) a Duplo maze we put together for her.
Tonight (Monday), Elizabeth was put to rest in a small box, wrapped in pretty pink tissue paper. She will be buried tomorrow back by the pond, and Junie B. will paint a small headstone for her. Other than the fish tank, Elizabeth was Junie B.'s first pet.
And tonight, we are sad.
Eileen,
I'm so sorry. I'm tuning in late, I know. But the loss of a beloved pet can be really hard. Tell your kids that their memory stones are just beautiful and that we know how sad they feel right now.
Jane
Posted by: Jane | October 25, 2007 at 12:43 AM