RIP-Jet

Throughout her early years, Alix adored animals. Really, to say she adored animals is being too cute about it. She empathized, and identified with animals. She believed individual animals were her personal friends. Our next door neighbor had a yellow cat named Mandy. Or, rather, Alix called the cat Mandy. I'm not sure we actually knew what the cat's name was. Alix greeted Mandy when she came home from kindergarten, and sat on the front stoop with Mandy in the clean, clear Spring air. Alix called Mandy her "friend cat". When Mandy disappeared, Alix looked for her, and hoped for when she came back, which she did.
Mandy was a friend in the friend constellation that my younger daughter always maintained.

A preschool student's mother gave us a rabbit in my first year of teaching. Alix was five. This started our family's rabbit adventure. The rabbit, Cinnamon Pie, became another friend in the constellation. Soon there were too many friend rabbits to mention here! Cinnamon never became a mother, and died of indeterminate age, memorialized by Alix and me with a rosebush planted in our back yard. But there was Thumper, Little Thump, Little Thump, Jr., Butterscotch, Lucky, Clover, Groucho, and many others. Alix learned over the years to care for rabbits. Later Alix and Katie received free guinea pigs, and Alix trained them to jump into their cages, just as she trained our poodles to roll over, and horses to jump.
Alix related well to animals, and they to her.

Three years ago, Alix, and her sweetie, Dan, bought a black guinea pig, and called him Jet. They became devoted parents to him. Alix used her considerable skills to care for Jet, and Dan became a dedicated driver on vet runs. Jet had a happy guinea pig life, and died last night after a prolonged illness. Dan and Alix buried him in Dan's parents' back yard. Instead of a rosebush, and in keeping with the times, Alix posted a memorial for Jet. On Facebook.

When you give birth to children, you learn that each one is uniquely gifted. At least to me, my younger daughter is thus gifted with an empathic kindness that includes guinea pigs, rabbits, cats, dogs and horses. All have equal places of respect in her heart. Her constellation is full of friends, both human and furry.
Posted by Picasa

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Halloween, preschool style.

Image
Preschool Halloween parade. Parents rush in right before with siblings in tow. Undressing and dressing commence. Little ones cry or stomp, refuse to wear some part of their costume. Parents coax, cajole, praise. Everyone is taking pictures, even we teachers. How many pictures do I have of four year olds in Halloween costumes from twenty years of teaching? We walk in a line down to the school office for our first "treat", an apple, then on to the church office for our second treat, a pencil. Then down to the Social Hall for a few more, only one of which is actual candy. We dance one teacher's favorite, The Chicken Dance. Next we dance to mine, Ghostbusters. I secretly think my choice is much more fun. The children seem to agree. The princesses (they are all princesses this year) grab each others' hands and circle, giggling. The boys bob up and down, not too sure Batman or Spiderman would be caught doing something so undignified. Not everyone dances. Some are already c
Read more

True self-expression

Image
This is a former student (she's going into first grade, now). When I teach courses on young children and the arts, this picture resonates for me. A child who has the opportunity to listen to music, feel it, and respond to it is finding her creative center. In schools, today, children need to learn through all their senses, through their bodies, as well as their minds and imaginations. I teach my college students that American children are several years "developmentally delayed", musically. As a nation we are more music consumers, than music makers. I show them videos of children in other cultures making sophisticated rhythm and music when they are only four and five years old--mostly unheard of here. I emphasize the connection between musical and language development, and how those areas of the brain are close together. We discuss ways to infuse music and movement into every aspect of the curriculum. Before the state cut out the Community College class on Music & Mo
Read more
Image
Christ Church, Alexandria, VA. In this sanctuary, both of my children were baptized. One daughter was married here. We look forward to baptizing our grandson here, also. My husband and I have been members since 1977, when we came from Cleveland, Ohio. A choir member at our old parish suggested Christ Church, having visited as a tourist. The Christ Church choir director just happened to have openings for both a baritone and alto soloist (paid soloists being the thing in many Episcopal churches). So we sang in the choir for many years, and my husband still does. In the beginning, all of the exotic southern culture involved in living in Alexandria felt like wearing new, slightly itchy clothing. We found ourselves living in a foreign country that spoke a version of English. Some people drawled, like in the movies! Others, being transplants like us, did not. As for food: Just as casseroles, I'm told, are the holy food of Methodism, ham biscuits were here. Church receptions al
Read more