“My favorite squirrel”

October 11, 2008 · Posted in Tribune articles

Cue the mournful funeral dirge: we’ve had a tragedy here. It was a very, very sad day. We used to have neighbors with 2 really big dogs, so we didn’t have much in the way of squirrels in the yard all summer. Sadly, the neighbors moved and took “the boys” with them, but on the positive side, according to the 5 year old, the squirrels are back in the yard. This is entertaining for him, because he loves to watch them balance on the fence as they race to the next tree, their tails flipping and flopping for balance. This makes our dog INSANE of course, so HE barks and barks at the windows again. “yay” (heavy sarcasm for those that miss that kind of thing)

I, being the “funnest, coolest mom a kid could ever have” (as declared one day by the above mentioned 5 year old) had gotten him a pool to splash around in this summer. Nothing too fancy, and he didn’t get to play in it much, because I didn’t get any kind of cover for it, and the thing was always just a few degrees warmer than Lake Superior, but it was there. Since school started, it’s been on the “boy, I should really take care of that” list every day, but every day, a hundred other, more appealing things, like cleaning out the fridge, and scrubbing the toilet seemed to bump it off the top of the list.

Then, “Black Thursday” arrived; a day of great sadness in our house. I was fixing dinner, and looked out the kitchen window, and saw “something” in the pool. “Honey? Can you go see what’s in the pool, and then maybe pull the plug, so I can get it cleaned up before winter?” (way to pass off that unsightly task, eh?) Honey goes out to the yard, and says, “It’s a squirrel”. The 5 year old says, “Who are you talking to?” I say, “Daddy. There’s a dead squirrel in the pool” “OH COOL! Can I go see the dead squirrel?” (shudder from me) “sure, knock yourself out” and off he runs. By the time he gets out there, Daddy has the hole dug, and then goes and scoops “Rocky” out of the pool, and puts him in the hole, and THEN the waterworks start. In comes the 5 year old, HUGE tears running down his face, “that was my FAVORITE squirrel, Mom!” Said with all the heartache that he can muster. So I told him that the squirrel was enjoying squirrel heaven, and no dogs will ever chase him again, and he’s got a pile of acorns the size of our house all to himself. This seems to lessen his pain a bit, and off he goes to play. Man, I sure miss those days when Mom could fix everything with a few words and a hug. But it sure is cool being the one who can fix a broken heart with a hug, though!