Euthanize at Five

...written by Drew

Upon rising in the early morn, Emma was greeted with the ever present need to expand her vocabulary through a "seek and find." Now, I am no Captain Worksheet, but as Emma chose this from a dozen resources on the table, I wasn't about to steer her interests in another direction. In many ways the S&F provided a nice leisurely stroll to the morning activities. The other benefit was that nothing was lost by us both being distracted by the birds on the other side of the glass.

At some point in the day we took up a "Mini Page" with the topic of Animal Shelters. Although saddened by the prospect of animals being abused and/or abandoned by their owners, Emma handled the idea of euthanization fairly well. She immediately equated an animal being killed in this way to the passing of the only dog which she has known well, the pup of my youth (12-27), Kaya. Perhaps allowing her to watch Planet Earth dozens of times has numbed her to animal death. If nothing else, having to address the topic did make me wonder, "Is five years old too young to be exposed to the idea that millions of animals are killed by shelters every year?"

Other activities for the day included trips to the consignment store, JoAnn's (Fabric Store),
Walmart, the local park to play some t-ball, and then evening bathtub painting (what a mess.)