Unconventional Pets

My youngest son absolutely loves to capture everything from worms to ants to ladybugs. He puts them in a little plastic container and always asks what the critter needs for his home and food. I'm often amazed at just how much care he takes of his critter and how well he keeps up with it and carries it around with him everywhere he goes. Of course, there always comes the day when the little critter just can't survive another day in confinement and either escapes or just dies. AJ is usually pretty good with accepting these natural consequences and goes on to find his next victim; um, I mean, pet. This is probably one of the many areas that AJ is at a disadvantage being the youngest of 4 children. We have been through so many "pets"....cats, hamsters, gerbils, fish, etc. But, they all just seem to come and go and are always way more effort to maintain that I ever imagined possible. So, at this point, I'm incredibly resistant to anymore of those "disposable" pets. We have a black lab and that just seems like plenty to me. So my guess is AJ is fulfilling his desires for a pet by capturing any little small creature he can find.

This weekend's pet was a ladybug. It was a pale yellow ladybug that was named "Him". Him was special and much different than any of the past critters because AJ felt perfectly comfortable taking Him out and allowing Him to crawl all over his body. Throughout the day today AJ spent time playing with his little ladybug and would then safely store Him back in his container. I was actually quite fascinated watching it happen and thought to myself that a ladybug appeared to the world's greatest pet for a 4 yr old.

And it really was a fantastic idea. I've never seen a little boy have more fun with a critter than AJ had with Him UNTIL........tragedy struck. Him was happily crawling all over AJ's arm while AJ giggled with happiness. At that point Paige bumped into AJ causing Him to fall to the ground causing a good bit of conflict between the two of them resulting in Him being squished. Oh what a terribly sad moment for us all. Emotions among the kids ran the gamut....sadness, guilt, empathy; but they all came together to support AJ during this great tragedy. Kaeli suggested we take Him out and bury him, but AJ refused. Instead Him had a very indignant burial in the toilet. After several minutes calm returned to our household and we all got back to normal routine.

Ten to fifteen minutes later I had already moved on to other things like folding laundry when AJ came into the laundry room and said "mommy, I need to tell you a secret". I bent down so that he could easily reach my ear and he whispered "I had so much fun with my ladybug, I miss him". What a sweet, sweet little boy!!! I just gave him a huge hug and promised we would try to find another ladybug very soon.