Thimble Thoughts: Here Lies Tom

Monday, February 26, 2007

Here Lies Tom

Yesterday we were on our way to church when I saw Hannah's beloved Tom cat on the side of the road. We were able to keep Hannah from seeing him to and from church and when we got home from morning service, Bruce was able to remove him from the road until we were able to bury him today.

We knew it would break her little heart, so we decided to wait. She would not have been able to play in the orchestra, sing in the youth choir or listen to the sermon. So she found out after the evening service at home. She sobbed herself to sleep. Her pretty hazel eyes were all puffy, red, and swollen today.

I know funerals for animals may seem silly, especially to those of you who live on farms, but when your child has a pet they have given their love to and have developed a relationship with, a funeral just seems the right thing to do.

So Bruce picked out a little passage of scripture from Ecclesiastes 7: 1 & 2. "A good name is better than precious ointment, and the day of death than the day of one's birth. It is better to go to the house of mourning, than to go to the house of feasting: for that is the end of all men, and the living will lay it to his heart." If ever a cat had a good name, it was Tom. He wasn't your typcial cat. You know, moody and snobbish. He was the kind of cat that liked to jump up in your lap for a pet. Follow you around the yard. Meow at the living room window while you're having family time until someone would come out for a little fellowship with him. Or maybe even let him in the house for just a few minutes.

We took turns saying something nice about Tom and when it was Hannah's turn, she started crying again. Bruce of course tried to console her broken little heart.

And then Bruce said something that turned her tears to giggles. Something he's always been good at. He was forever calling Tom Kitty Cat. When Hannah was crying He said, "I was hoping to one day name him Kit E. Cat." She immediately started to giggle. Daddy's can be sweet and funny all at the same time.