We had Charlie’s funeral today. We buried him next to our dog that died earlier this year. I told my kids that just like sometimes they will let their sibling use one of their toys for a short time, then take it back, God let us enjoy Charlie for a time, but has now taken him back.

Yesterday Jonathan was taking it the hardest. Charlie was his favorite. Gracie our other cat, who rarely pays any attention to Jonathan, preferring me, Linda or Samuel, got up on the end-table next to Jonathan, as he was crying, and stared at him. When he noticed, Jonathan got mad and swatted at Gracie and she scurried away, but not two minutes later Jonathan went and got Gracie and hugged her and held her close for a long time.

We still have Gracie and Eddie (Jonathan’s pet rat) and Henry (Jonathan’s pet turtle) (Obviously Jonathan has inherited my love for animals) and I explained what a mistake it would be to let the pain of losing a loved pet keep you from loving other animals or even people. I think the kids understand, and they’re accepting the loss better.

Charlie’s death has made Linda and I look closer at our own lives. We see how the death of pets help to "inoculate" children to the inevitable loss of a person they are close to. We see God’s hand in preparing them for the emotional impact of such a loss. We realized we need to make sure the economic preparations are taken care of.