Azul

Ella and Dawson found a cute blue-tailed skink in the wood pile out back. But in their attempt to capture this poor creature, a piece of wood fell on him and partially crushed him. They didn't have a clue the thing was half dead when they ran over to show us, they were just so excited they caught him! Ella was curious why his "tongue was hanging out" ~ but it wasn't his tongue, it was some sort of gut material. We made him a comfy home of grass and flowers in a vented Gladlock and hoped for the best. Miraculously, Azul {yes, we are fluent in Spanish. Okay, we know our colors in Spanish, but that counts for something} survived his logging accident and survived the night. Ella really wanted to bring him to school, they were just finishing up their animal unit and also had butterfly houses, so it seemed fitting to show him to her friends. So with permission from her teacher, I brought Azul to school and when Ella picked him up and said "see everyone!" to a group of friends, what they saw was a board-stiff, dead as a doornail lizard. Thank goodness none of them knew he was dead! They stroked him, commented on how smooth he was, how calm he was, and cold...all characteristics of dead things. A couple of parents asked why he was so still and I told them he had passed on, but that was our little secret for now. At home, I had to tell the kids that Azul had succombed to his injuries and that we would see him in all his glory in heaven. Next, it was time to bury him, rest his soul, because boy do lizards stink after they pass from this life. I made a cross of sticks, Ella found a special rock and wrote his name on it, Dawson and the babies picked wildflowers. We dug a hole and they each said a little something about Azul, and I said a prayer thanking God for his beautiful creation and that we can look forward to heaven someday, when we will never have to feel sadness. It was the first of many animal burials I'm sure. With 4 kids, we're bound to see our fair share of deceased critters. But it was sweet to see how much they cared for Azul, you can see on Ella's face in some of the pictures that she truly was sad. I love that they have tender hearts, that they are innocent and caring and kind ~ for the most part anyway...