Ode To A Hamster

We added a new member to the family last night, Lulu the hamster. She is our third. My girls are totally devoted to their hamsters, so when they die the grief is real and lingering. Sam was our first, a birthday gift for Hannah when she turned eight. Sammy was an escape artist whose disappearances prompted many family searches. For the record, hamsters can fit into some incredibly tight spaces! The first time he went missing the entire family joined in and tore the house apart. The sense of urgency diminished with each occurrence, but the love for the hamster didn't. On one occasion he got into the couch and we actually had to flip it and cut a whole in the bottom to get him out.
On a horribly sad day, Hannah called me to tell me Sammy had learned a new trick, playing dead. He wasn't but he was close. The next hour and a half proved to be one of the most challenging times my girls had ever faced. It was clear that Sammy was dying and there was nothing we could do. I did what I thought was best and told the girls that as much as Sammy loved them it was their turn to show their love for him. They sat with that little hamster, held him, pet him and loved him until he died in their arms. When they looked at Sammy and begged, "Please don't leave us, please don't die" I was even sobbing. Hannah and Hailey decorated a little box, we made a bed out of cotton, placed Sammy carefully in it and buried him in the back yard under a tree.
I endlessly debated buying another hamster. I didn't want to teach the girls that love was replaceable, that you could lose something so dear and then just go buy another one. A month went by, and we were all still missing Sammy. I went and picked out Lucy. I put her in my closet and let the girls 'find' her. Their joy told me I did the right thing.
I was in the office one day when I finally became aware of Sydney's frenzied barking, which then went oddly silent. Knowing Sydney like I do, I ran to find her and was horrified to see Lucy dangling from her mouth. All you could see of that little hamster was the tip of her nose poking out of one side of Sydney's mouth and her flailing hind feet hanging out the other side. I PANICKED! I could not imagine telling the girls that we had lost Lucy and that it was Sydney that had killed her. Meanwhile, Sydney was looking at me like, ' what do I do now?' I yelled at her to 'drop it' and she gladly spit Lucy out into my hands. The hamster looked like she had been through a bad car wash, covered with spit and remnants of Sydney's breakfast. Amazingly enough, Lucy came away from her encounter with Sydney unscathed. Unfortunately, Lucy would succumb to some unknown ailment six months later. Hamsters do not last long but this was awful. Again, the girls held her in their arms, fed her drops of water and loved her until the end. In each of these moments I watched my little girls reach deep inside themselves and find the strength to be there for these little creatures that needed them. She was buried in a similar ceremony right next to Sammy.
You have to understand how much my girls love these hamsters before you could possibly understand why we bring home yet another tiny friend. For Hannah, these hamsters assume a role that is more than pet. They are the first thing she checks on in the morning and the last thing she checks on before she goes to bed. You have to be careful hugging Hannah, because more often than not, there is a hamster in her hand, her pocket, her hood or somewhere on her body. On one occasion, Hannah was cuddling with Lucy and fell asleep. I found the two of them on Hannah's bed, both asleep. Lucy had chewed a hole in Hannah's shirt, that Hannah was wearing, the size of my open palm and made a nest out of it, but it was cute all the same. When Hailey has a friend over and Hannah is left out, which, being the little sister, she often is, she has her furry friend to love.
So getting another hamster might be crazy, is definitely risky, but a mistake? I don't think so. As parents we really never know if we are doing a good job until it is way too late. We can only rely on our instincts, listen to our hearts and hope and pray for the best. We want to insulate our kids from all the pain and failure that life can bring, but should we?
Welcome home Lulu.