Saturday, March 6, 2010

Hamster Heaven

This is a post from almost two years ago. I just thought you would enjoy it at this time of year.

Mimi, age 7, had this cute little dwarf hamster that she named "Chocolate Chip"that she absolutely loved. She was constantly holding it, loving it and would hold it in her hand and bounce it about eight inches in the air and catch it. I told her not to bounce her hamster like that and she said, "But I'm getting really good at catching!" Mimi loved Chocolate Chip so much I thought she was going to love her to death because she never put her down. She decided to give Choc Chip a bath in the sink without telling us about it until after the fact.

I was running errands one day and came home when Ali (14) announced that Mimi's hamster died. I knew her little heart would be broken. I decided to peek out the back door to make sure she was alright. She seemed to be doing just fine because my backyard was full of kids. The neighbor boy, age 6, was jumping on our trampoline with something in his cupped hand. I asked what he had when he produced the dead hamster. I tried not to freak out (but I did) and I asked Mimi, "Why didn't you and Daddy bury her?" She answered, "We did, but Tait wanted to see her."

I dug a hole a little deeper in the same spot in the yard and we buried her again. Her friend's mom came to pick up her daughter about a half an hour later and we couldn't find the two girls anywhere. I called every friend's I thought she would be at and couldn't find her. So we stood in the backyard and thought they would appear soon. We were right. They soon came running around the corner. Mimi had her hands behind her back looking guilty. I asked what she had behind her back and she said, "Nothing."

"You didn't dig up your hamster again, did you?" I asked. She pulled her hands out from behind her back and yes.......there was the hamster! I said, "Gross, Mimi! Why did you dig her up?" She said, "I wanted to visit her," as she rubbed the hamster corpse against her cheek. I had to control my gag reflex.

I buried the hamster again and told Mimi she need to let Chocolate Chip's spirit rest so she can go to Hamster Heaven.

The next day we went to church and afterwards, Mimi announced, "I'm going to change into my play clothes and go outside and play for a minute." She's not a good liar, so I wondered if the hamster would be exhumed again. I told my husband her plan and he said, "Do I have to bury her somewhere else in the yard?" I thought, that might be a little freaky if Mimi tried to dig her up again and it was gone. How do you explain that? So we got the video camera out and watched out of our bedroom window as she dug it up.



The next day we bought her another hamster, named Wiggles. "Rest in Peace" Chocolate Chip.







12 comments:

Karen said...

I love it! The picture is priceless. I hadn't seen it tell this morning.

Nicole said...

maybe she is destined to be a mortician when she grows up. she could have her own chain of funeral homes someday. She may even give you a screaming deal on your own funeral. Let's just hope she doesn't dig you up 3 times just to say hi. :)

See Mom Smile said...

Oh poor sweet little Chocolate Chip. We have buried guinea pigs, hamsters, gerbils and lost one corn snake. We are hoping he made it to heaven with the rest of them!

Just a bed of roses said...

may chocolate chip be in crumbs by now...and have rested in peace.
what a story krista! That's a good funny video story.

Melissa said...

Oh my gosh, you are your mimi stories...you kill me! I am sitting here giggling trying not to wake up my hubby. So awesome!

Anonymous said...

OMG....I laughed so hard here at work people were coming up to see what was wrong with me.....gosh Im glad we are related.

Whacky Wheelers said...

What a hoot!! Wait until she grows up and has kids of her own. They will love this!! She seems to have such a tender heart.

Serene is my name, not my life! said...

Oh my goodness! Haha, that is TOO funny!
And chocolate chip is a good name for anything. I like your daughter already!

DJ said...

Kind of creepy, but kind of cute and funny at the same time. We love Mimi stories!

Nancy said...

Oh my goodness this had me laughing. Kids are so dang cool, and your daughter might just be the coolest. I love that she just kept digging up dead hamster day after day. Awesome. Oh, and I knew you had lived in/had connections with Australia, but I didn't know your husband was an Aussie. Love the accent . . . I would steel it and use it myself everyone wouldn't call me out as a fake :(

Kari said...

Loved it then..... Love it now!!!

Sharon said...

To funny!