Life's lessons

I'm afraid the patient didn't make it, which was no less depressing for being half-expected.

I wasn't here in the morning to tell the girls the news- I'd been at work over an hour by the time they got up, but I called to check in and they seemed okay about it.

I got a voicemail message from my cell phone from R around 11 or so, though. When I called back, I learned that she'd been in the office twice so far, feeling blue. They'd finally had her speak with the school's educational director, who might qualify as the best "counselor" there right now. But this director (very Waldorf trained and up until now respected by me) not only commiserated with R, she also told her that animals that have been paired with other animals generally do not do well when left alone, and we should consider getting another bird to keep the remaining one company. That's right, for those of you like Lisa who are surprised or even outraged to hear this, I'll say it again: this woman in a position of authority suggested that we should replace our dead pet, and soon.

Weigh against this the idea that it's better to give kids a chance to experience loss a little, and that I don't want them to think it's that easy: a pet dies, you get a new one. Besides, just on the off-chance that it was a birdie virus that killed Lime, Lemon (the widow/er) could also be sick. How irresponsible would it be for us to get a new bird just in time for Lemon to infect it and then drop to the bottom of the cage him/herself? And what if Lemon doesn't like the new bird? And - more to the point, I think - this is not a decision that a teacher or school administrator should be making, right?

So we had an impromptu family meeting in the two minutes that we were all home this evening (before I dashed off to a meeting for the school auction), and we've decided to wait and see: observe Lemon, take it slow. I think the indecision is hard on the kids, though, and I think we'll end up replacing the bird. But on our terms, not the kids' "Can we go to the pet store right now" terms and not based on someone else's, "The survivor will be sad and lonely otherwise," suggestion.

On a completely different note, can I just say that sometimes, for all the great pay and the wonderful service we provide and other incredible perks - sometimes, work is just not worth it. If I'd had any more brutal an afternoon, I would have had to sit in my car and bawl before I even left the company's parking lot. As it was, I was over an hour late picking up my (mourning, grieving, needing-mommy) kids, and I had 3 phone calls from work before I made it 10 miles from the office. Blech. There's more, but I'm pretty much over it. D had to hear me "download" the ickiness. I only had a little left. I'm better now. Thanks for listening.