Tonight I held Marinette as she passed away. She has been struggling for weeks. We thought she was getting better but Mariah saw that she was laying down and alerted me that she was unlikely to survive the night. I held her for over half an hour as she struggled to breath and finally she stretched out and relaxed as she stopped breathing. Mariah, Laura, and Emma were all around at the time expressing their love. I’m glad that she is no longer suffering and look forward to seeing her frolicking as she did when we first brought her home.
We don’t plan to bring any more guinea pigs into the house – at least not anytime soon. That being said, I think it is important to note the things they have brought to us as we have had these 7 little guests brightening our home. Molly brought Mariah some much needed comfort and perhaps she loved as long as she did partly because we couldn’t have handled losing her any earlier. When we first got pets Laura wasn’t excited. After Willow died she took Mariah to get a new guinea pig and came home with two. Laura found a friend in Ellis who warmed her heart. That was a turning point in her emotional state. After Ellis and Willow had died Laura connected with Chocolate Eclair and to a slightly lesser degree Periwinkle. We all loved Marinette when we finally got her after taking a small break. Now the family is stronger together and we have learned some things about caring for these pets and something of what love looks like.
We don’t need to go through losing any more because our focus needs to be on building stronger bonds between our family members. I am excited about the patterns we are starting to form with reading together and library day. I’m also excited by Laura’s new determination to help enforce discipline and order so that the kids stop feeling like they can and should just push whatever boundaries might appear. When we get those boundaries fixed everyone will feel more secure and begin to grow past our current limitations. The future looks bright even without a new pet.
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