Jiminy the Grasshopper

Well, a little grasshopper the other day hopped into Ryan's (my 6 year old) hand. He asked me if he could keep him. I said "sure" and went to go get the frog habitat that we have. You are supposed to buy a tadpole and put in water. Then as it grows to be a frog, we can watch the process. Pretty cool. We have wait to get a tadpole because it's not yet season. Soooo, I ran to get the frog habitat for my little Ryan's grasshopper. He was just so excited! He watched Jiminy and fed him. I told him little Jiminy likes plants especially but Ryan figured he would like a Cheezit.

 Well, Jiminy only lasted 2 days. Ryan cried his little eyes out at the discovery that his pet had died. Before I really knew how badly his heart was broken, he ran out to hide in the backyard. I went looking for him. He was crouched down hiding, still holding Jiminy in his hand. I told him I was so sorry and I cried with him. I talked to him about death (a lighter version) and offered to have a little funeral for him. Ryan said okay but as I began to dig the little hole, Ryan said "I am not putting Jiminy under the dirt"! He was afraid for Jiminy. So I offered something to put him in first. Well, we couldn't find anything tiny enough so I wrapped him in foil and we tried the funeral again. I said a few kind words (hee hee) and told him to have fun hopping around in buggy heaven. 

Later Ryan was asking me questions like, "Is there a buggy God? Can I see him again?" I explained that there is only one God and he oversees all the people, bugs, and animals. 5 times he dug up little Jiminy and I would see Ryan crying over him! The rest of the day he was just in tears and I would find him in a corner balling! I think this was Ryan's first incident with death and it just jarred his little innocent mind. So I explained it a little to him. Throughout the day we just cried together and talked about Jiminy. Just to comfort his little heart. I'm sure since we're getting chickens and a tadpole, Ryan will gain a new pet! LOL! Just had to share this story with you. Kids are just too cute.