Carmel

March 23, 2020
Today you lost your beloved hamster, Carmel.

From Thursday - Sunday, Carmel didn't poop or eat much, so we placed him in a shoebox and took him to the vet on Monday.  We had to wait in the car because of the current Coronavirus quarantine.  The nurse took Carmel from us, and about 10 minutes later the small animal vet called me.  She explained that she could feel a tumor in Carmel's abdomen, and that there wasn't anything that they could do to save him. He was already very uncomfortable, and so the only thing we could do is put him to sleep.  When I told you this, you thought putting him to sleep was a good idea. You didn't understand specifically what it meant. I clarified and told you that he was going to sleep permanently. You burst into deep tears of sadness and loss.  They nurse brought Carmel back to us so we could say goodbye. She then took him and returned him permanently asleep. You held him closely all the way home.

In the car on the way home you said, "I would be this sad if Dad died." which made me laugh out loud. You laughed because I was laughing. Then you looked at me confused, and asked, "Why are you laughing?" because you were really that sad. You said, "My heart hurts more than it ever has before in my entire life."

That afternoon, we all sat out front and painted a rock for Carmel. They are in our backyard with him now.

You learned what cremation is and said you wished Carmel would have been cremated so that you could wear him in a necklace around your neck.

Because this happened in the time of Coronavirus/Covid-19, there was no on campus school. Ms. Boyesen arranged a tribute online on SeeSaw for your classmates to write you notes of encouragement. You were grateful to hear from your friends.