Fuzzy farewell

We lost of member of our animal family yesterday. Hermione the Hamster died.

I found her lifeless body Tuesday night in her cage. After a quick discussion with Jayne about whether or not we should tell the girls right away (it was just before bedtime), we agreed we should. Jayne broke the news and the tears flowed.

Elspeth did go to sleep pretty quickly, but I had to stay in bed and comfort Alyssa. She has been sick and home from school, so she's a little fragile. And Alyssa is very compassionate and emotional. So, I laid with her until I could divert her attention to Pokemon and finally to sleep.

We had Hermione for a couple of years. She was a large white hamster who loved carrots and tooling around the room in her hamster ball.

Elspeth gave the hamster her name, and not just because of her interest in Harry Potter. Here's Elspeth's logic on the name:

-- She's a she, so it's "Her-"

-- I picked her our, so she's "-miney."

--Thus, Hermione.

Thought: No, we're not getting another hamster.