That being said, when the Easter Bunny, Tooth Fairy, and Santa come around I feel squeamish.
I feel guilty when these holidays roll around because it doesn't sit right with me. Don't get me wrong, I understand the excitement of thinking the Easter Bunny is coming. I wouldn't take that away from them but it feels wrong when I talk about Tooth Fairy leaving money under their pillow. Am I the only one? Do you remember when you finally learned that none of it was true? I remember and I guess I was a little hurt.
So now that you know how I feel about being honest with my kids I have a sad story to tell. We have been keeping our parakeet cage on the back porch. I started doing this because these birds throw their food about two feet in all directions from their cage. It makes for a messy floor. I thought since the weather was warm and there were lots of wild birds in the backyard that we would start keeping them back there. Macey didn't like it, she wanted them inside. I assured her they would be fine. Afterall, it is a fenced in backyard, they are on a high table against a brick wall in a covered area. The wild birds would hang around their cage eating stray seeds. It seemed perfect. I was so sure.
Last week I woke up to find the cage strewn across the back porch. Something had pulled it off the table and the birds were gone. My heart broke for Macey. We loved those things. She drew pictures and talked about them all the time.
I was unsure of what to do. For a minute, I was thinking about how I could get matching birds quickly and replace them. That felt wrong though. I decided I would tell her but not until after school that day. I had this wild hope that they would fly back if some stupid cat hadn't eaten them. Their wings are clipped but they could still fly a small distance. I searched the woods behind our house but didn't see them. Truthfully, our woods are full of birds and I wouldn't blame them if they didn't come back. Our woods are like that scene in Rio where all the birds are flying around the jungle singing and dancing.
When I told Macey, she was so sad. She walked outside in the rain looking for herself. Macey cried and claimed that she is going to keep looking for them. It hurt my heart. I told her if they weren't back by next week we would get her some more and make sure they stay inside. Maybe I should have lied and got her replacement birds before she noticed the first ones were gone, to save her from all this heartache. I have never felt this bad for Macey before. I guess that is life and part of being a parent. This desperate feeling inside to make it all better is overwhelming. I want to buy the girl 20 parakeets and just make her room a giant bird cage. That could get messy though....maybe that is not such a great idea.
I think I am going to get her two parakeets and surprise her with them at her class birthday party on Thursday. Moving on.
1 comment:
Oh I am so sorry about the birds :( . We have chosen not to participate in any of the holiday characters for religious beliefs and just never did the tooth fairy thing. My kids don't know any difference so don't believe I have deprived them. You did the right thing by telling Macey the truth. We are to shield and protect our kids, but they also have to learn about loss and unfortunately pain and how to deal with those things. You couldn't have known something would happened to those birds on that porch, but just like life things happen and this is just another opportunity to teach Macey one of the hard lessons of life. Hugs!!
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