The Goodbyes Begin

Yesterday was the official beginning of the end for me.
We gave our gerbils away.

I still remember the day we got them. It was Christmas 2007. Dana was here with Ray, soon to be engaged. The boys had been given Christmas money, and Damian Jr. decided he wanted an indoor pet. So gerbils it was.

At our local pet store you can purchase 'new' gerbils or adopt some that were brought back for a donation.  We decided to adopt and picked four little grey brothers.  They were so cute!  Damian named them after the characters in the Hobbit. We set them up in the boys' bedroom. Of course, that didn't last long since gerbils are noctural!

The care of the gerbils, cleaning of the cage was the sole responsibility of Damian and me. That was always the best time to hold them and watch them play. This became our little ritual almost every week.  Occasionally, a gerbil would escape the playground and run for it! Even that was fun, trying to catch the gerbil before he tumbled down the stairs! There were no major incidents until the next summer.

Every summer, Damian Jr. goes away for a week of camp. Before he left, we cleaned out the cage, making my only responsibility to keep them fed until his return. I did just that. Everyday I'd go check on them.  I always saw little grey things running around, coming out for food. Everything seemed fine to me.  When Damian came home, he looked at his gerbils and said, why are there only three?  I had no idea what he was talking about. Opening the cage, we discovered that one of the gerbils had died in a tunnel accident!  I felt so bad!

After a little mourning, Damian moved on, even changing their names to the Three Musketeers!  Little did I know that their names would continue to change!

As time went on, I found myself more and more being the only caregiver. Sometimes I was ok with this.  Other times, I was ready to give them away!  A few months ago, I discussed this with Damian.  He confessed that he had grown bored with the gerbils and didn't want them any more. When Dakota heard this, he immediately said, 'I want them!' And indeed, I knew he did. He had become my new little helper! Those poor gerbils had more playtime than they wanted, I'm sure. When asked what their names were, Dak simply said, 'Damian, Chris, and Steve!' Those are names with great meaning for him:  Damian, his brother and all-time hero, Steve, our youth pastor and Dak's  favourite sitter, and Chris, our music director and Dakota's favourite play thing!

Things, again, were going fine.  I myself was tired of the extra bit of work of caring for these little creatures, but it was always worth it when I saw the joy on Dakota's face.  He really loved those gerbils.

As the time for our departure drew near, I started asking around to find a new home for them. With only a few weeks left, I felt confident that another family would have the privilege of watching and caring for our pets. Then, one Sunday evening, my husband told me that another gerbil had died. I knew this time that he had just perished, for I had seen all three of them that morning. Now, old age was setting in, and I wondered if in fact anyone else would even want them.

Fortunately, my friend did still want them for however long they have left.  We gave the cage one last clean, and took the gerbils to their new home and family yesterday.  The children were so excited!  When my friend asked what their names are, I told them the story of the changing names, suggesting that they come up with names of their own.  They happily agreed.  Now, I'm looking forward to hearing about this new chapter in these critters' lives while it's a bitter sweet end to another chapter in ours.