R.I.P. Fuzzy

It is with a heavy heart that I am letting everyone know that Fuzzy has passed away. The actual time of death was Monday evening. Dotty has decided to pass on a formal funeral service and instead would like to just believe that Fuzzy has grown into a beautiful butterfly and flown off to somewhere wonderful.

She believes that because that is what I told her.

How do you explain to a 3 and a half year old about "death"??? I had no desire to tell Dotty that Fuzzy had died (or to explain why he died...mainly from being "loved to death" by Dotty).

This is why I never had many pets growing up (just Pat the "potted cat"). I don't like to be sad or to know that someone or something I loved is no longer going to be a part of my life. Life is hard enough without adding dead pets to the mix.

Perhaps I am sheltering Dotty too much. Perhaps I don't want my child to feel pain when in fact pain is a part of life and the sooner she learns to deal with it and get passed it the better.

I know I am not a big fan of crying myself. I don't like to do it. I don't even like to see other people do it. My counselor has numerous times said I should learn to be more comfortable with crying and she has said that I need to embrace crying since it is a natural and needed part of life. I am still working on that.

Don't get me wrong. I always try to tell Dotty it is okay to cry if she is really hurt or upset about something (I just don't do fake tears). I always hug her and tell her it is okay to be sad. I just don't really practice what I preach yet...or at least not all the time. Plus I am of the mindset that as Dotty's mom she should see me as stable and strong...for that reason I rarely (if ever) cry in front of Dotty.

So Fuzzy has since moved on to...well...wherever insects go after this life. If anyone has any thoughts as to how to tell a sweet child her first "pet" is no longer of the living I would love to hear it. Until then I am sticking with the story that Fuzzy is now a beautiful butterfly.