Well, they do if you’re seven.
The first thing Tommy does every morning is rush to Spunky’s cage and take him out to play… but the other morning he was dead. He lived a good long life; he was well cared for and loved. He had a thing for fresh pumpkin seeds and kids, so Halloween was his favorite holiday… and he lived to see two of them!
This was Tommy’s first experience with death and the concept of mortality… heavy stuff for a little kid, but a necessary thing to experience. Lisa and I felt fortunate that we were able to shape it into something positive for her.
Tommy didn’t want to bury Spunky’s remains because here in Minnesota, there’s no digging until the ground thaws, and we’d have to keep him in the freezer until then. So, she decided on cremation.
Thursday was the night.
I was in charge of the funeral pyre…
Spunky was wrapped in a blanket (paper towel) and Tommy placed him on top of his pyre. Mom touched it off while I held my tearful little girl.
As soon as she could, Tommy was back in her mother’s arms. I don’t blame her…
Tommy decided that she wanted to keep Spunky’s ashes, so we needed a receptacle. Spunky was sort of a cosmic hamster, and we decided that his final resting place merited something special… something worthy of the ancient cosmics. I built him a hamster pyramid… which Tommy decorated before he was interned.
So friends… pour one out for, Spunky, and raise a toast to, Anthony, our new Djungarian hamster.
Anthony the Hamster
