A Grief Observed

We had an unplanned bit of sadness during our visit. 

When my cat, Don Gato, died, Beth & Marah somehow convinced my dad that they were getting TWO cats to replace him. And so Mojo and Mulan showed up. Mojo was my dad's favorite--a ridiculous cat who skulked around like a bear and would jump and cling to your back if he wanted attention.

Not too long ago we found out that Mojo had stomach cancer. He stopped eating and spent most of his time just sleeping. Mom knew it was time for him to go, but was hoping he'd hold out until Marah came home to say goodbye.

While we were there Mojo had a vet visit. I could tell from Mom's face that it didn't go well. Mojo was down to 4 lbs.--literally nothing but skin and bones. The vet said he would start shutting down at any moment. 

And so Mojo came home to say goodbye to everyone. Catherine loved him because he was a real, live meow-meow. In fact, she loved him so much that we had to watch her very carefully. We caught her one time carrying him around by the scruff of his neck...for a few minutes I was terrified my daughter had killed the cat.

Mojo & kids

But it was Seth that this was all really confusing for:

He's old enough to understand death in theory--he know that plants die, animals die, and people die. We still have the mummified shell of one of his Catherine the Caterpillars. So in one sense he knew what it meant when we said Mojo was going to die. But not really.

Seth was so sweet to Mojo. I frequently found him laying next to Mojo on the bed, keeping him company. We also had to rescue Mojo from the blankets Seth was smothering him with to keep him warm. And every day he prayed for Mojo to get all better.

He asked a lot of questions about dying, being buried, and the resurrection. I thought he was handling it pretty well until I got a text from my mom (I was at the store looking for stupid tandoori masala). Apparently when Beth came home and found out, she lost it. And when Seth saw Bubba lose it, he did too. And not just for a minute or two--it was serious sobbing for about 15 minutes. Poor little guy!

Beth & Mom took Mojo to be put to sleep. They brought him back to bury in our yard (heaven help the people who move in after us--our backyard is a pet cemetery). Once again, Seth was very interested. Mom let him see Mojo's body and gentle touch it. Then we buried him in the yard (Seth found this EXTREMELY interesting). Now there's a black cat statue as a headstone.

Practically every day since then. Seth has asked when Jesus is coming. "I want him to come soon so that Mojo can get all better." It's hard to explain the waiting to a four-year-old, but in a way I'm glad he could be there to go through everything with Mojo before he has to go through  it with a family member.

Goodbye, Mojo! Just know that when you're all better, there's a little boy who's waiting to play with you again.