Tender Heart

Another post today (sorry so many), but I wanted to record this. It's quite sweet.

While we were at my parent's cabin this weekend, it was pretty cold. Cold enough that no one remembered that it's August. It felt more like the end of September (when we got home the thermometer read 47*).

There is no real heat in the cabin yet, so the kids and I were hanging out in the travel trailer my parents are living in while the cabin is being built. Max and my Dad were inside building window casings. Pretty boring stuff.

Earlier that day, my aunt and her husband had briefly visited. While they were there, we reminisced about a dog they owned many years ago. The dog's name was Pushkin (sp) after the famous Russian poet. Pushkin was more human than dog and would have long conversations with my aunt. She always knew when he was happy or sad or feeling disgruntled, because he would lay his head down on her lap and tell her about it verbally. I guess it was quite a sight.

Well, that evening, my mom was telling all this to my kids and Inigo asked her what happened to Pushkin. She said that he got very old and one night, laid down under the kitchen table and just went to sleep. Inigo got quiet and we could see the gears in his brain digesting this information.

I don't know who, but I think it was Buttercup, brought up the dog we owned when Inigo was a newborn. That dog was GREAT!! He was best dog we've ever owned. His name was Bandon and he was a Sheltie. Buttercup, Grammy and I started reminiscing about him and we told Inigo how much Bandon loved him. Inigo was only 3 1/2 months old when Bandon got hit by a car in front of our house. During that short time after he was born, Bandon would make sure he kept Inigo close to him, always watching out for him and taking care of him.

Not realizing that Inigo's emotions were ready to boil over, we kept talking -- remembering this wonderful pet that Buttercup and I adored. All of a sudden, he looked at me, his eyes were big and shiny, his mouth pulled down and he said, "Mom. I'm sad!" And then BOOM!! The dam burst. He started crying. Hard. He climbed up on my lap, put his arms around my neck and sobbed. "Mom, I miss Bandon!" "Mom, I'm so sad Bandon died!"

He cried for about 15 minutes.

This sweet child, who was so young that he only remembers the dog through pictures, made us all cry and miss Bandon once again. Even Buttercup who tries to be so grown-up and stoic had tears running down her face. It was quite a sight when Max and Papa walked into the trailer. Three crying women and a little boy who who has wet his mom's shirt with his tears...

It's silly, but then again... it's not. As a mom, I'm sad when my child's heart is breaking. But I also am thankful that they can feel love to such a degree as this. It reminds me that my children are divine and what they are capable of.

I love my kids!