Asking a lot

I ask a lot of my kids.  Lately, I've been asking a lot of Jared.  He is usually willing to help out watching the girls when I ask him to with pretty minimal grumbling.  He mows the lawn every week.  He stays in the kitchen to help with dishes after dinner quite often without being asked.  He is becoming a young man who is starting to notice what needs to be done and does it.  I'm proud of him.  Most recently because he discovered a situation in which action was required, and he had to come through.

This story needs some background information.  I am ashamed to admit that this has been the summer of my caving-in.  For example, we got a trampoline.  I pretty much swore we'd never get one.  And it resides on the cement (but it does have a net).  Oh, I pray my rehabilitation co-workers don't ever come to a barbecue at my house. 

My most recent cave-in action was to allow Jared to get hamsters for his sisters' birthdays.  I hate rodents.  They have no place as pets.  But his friend's hamsters 'worked some magic' as Sarah labeled it and had many babies.  They were desperate to get rid of some.  They threw in the cage and food for free.  Jared was thrilled to have such a unique present. 

The hamsters live in Rachel's room on a large shelf-like cubby hole.  I kept noticing rodent poop on the shelf next to the cage.  But the hamsters were always cozily tucked in their fluffy stuff (what is that stuff anyway?).  After a few nights, the bag to the food had been nibbled open. The hamsters were happily in the cage.   Ah-hah!!  We must have a mouse who is coming and stealing hamster food.  This seemed so elementary- trap the mouse and eliminate the problem.

Last Friday night, I placed a sticky trap on the side of the food and strategically located it so there was no way Mr. Mousie could get to it without going into my trap.  It did occur to me for about a nanosecond that maybe the hamsters were escaping and getting into the food- but that thought quickly passed.  I mean really- why would the hamsters get out and then go back in?  How would they get back in their cage anyway?  One of them had escaped a couple of times through a loose wire, but we had fixed that problem.

Saturday morning I left really early for work because Ihad about ten things I needed to accomplish that day.  Ryan left for a swim officials clinic.  Jared was home holding down the fort when the hamster was discovered in the sticky trap.  If you've ever used these, you know there is no retrieving the rodent from them without tearing it's limbs or probably fur off.  Apparently the girls were hysterical!.  If you have three girls in your home, then you know what I mean.  Actually, if you have one girl in your home, you probably have a good idea.

This is where Jared's true character shone through.  He went in to examine the hamster.  He made the girls stay outside the room.  And then he kindly euthanized the hamster and reported to the girls that it had died.  He helped them bury it in the backyard.  He helped them carve a tombstone out of a bar of soap.  And then he called me at work.  When I asked him to tell me the full story, he was so upset by it he wouldn't tell me how he did it.  He felt really terrible.  I assured him he had done the right thing!  The kindest thing, even though it was really tough.


I have tried to tell this story in a way that downplays my horrible parenting  (Those of you who know me well know that this is the 2nd pet this year for which I'm directly responsible for its demise) and shines on my awesome boy.  Please focus on the awesome part of the story.  And rejoice with me that now we only have one hamster- despite the horrible end the other one came to. 

This picture has nothing to do with my story.  It's just a great picture I came across while looking for one of J.