September 15, 2012

Good Night, Clash

Am I silly for sobbing uncontrollably while cleaning up the remains of our 10 year old Bearded Dragon Geico?

Rest in peace, Clash and thank you for the years.

The boys have always had me taking care of something.

Before I married I had a beautiful cat that one of my besties bestowed on me when I was around 21 years old. She was an amazing animal, and when I married and had children, she became queen mother, caring for them and often guarding them. She lived through the gold-fish and two pit bulls.

She passed away in my arms when the boys were about 8 and 5. We had just gotten a new pit bull when she went on to Cat Heaven. She adored the dogs, she adored everyone ... even my ex-husband who would often amuse himself by kicking her.

After losing her, at least 10-15 fish, and a dog named Sweetie Pie, I was adamant that I was done. We had one remaining pit and she was all that we needed... until my oldest delivered the geico "Clash".

Clash was pretty cool. I would capture centipedes around the house because after several hit and miss occurrences, I unveiled that it was his preferred meal. He also enjoyed crickets and dried veggies. He was low-maintenance and a great source of conversation when people came over to visit. I really never considered the fact that I may very well love the thing... after 7, or so, years, he was just another mouth in the house I fed. Then late last year he began to drop weight. We was still a voracious eater, but his usually fat tail was shrinking. He then began to molt slower and slower. In the last three months I had to  buy a spray to assist him. He was old, moving slow... I knew that "time" was nearing.

Last night when I went in to feed him he was good. He was slow, but crawled into his house ( an old camera box turned upside down ) after laying in his water for a while. He seemed happy enough. Do geicos experience joy?

This morning I sensed he was gone. I went in and, well, I was right. Good ole riga had set in ... I ran out of the room, I know its silly, but I truly needed my coffee before I could handle the fact that he was gone and I had to clean him up!

I burst into sobs. I felt REALLY nutty, but nonetheless I cried, for minutes .... yup, crazy as it is, I cried because my geico was dead.

No one else really fed him, the boys had long outgrown him, but he was still part of the family.

He will be missed. I hope we will meet again on the other side. I never thanked him for giving the boys whatever it is boys get from making their moms care for small creatures.

Maybe it's just to see just how squeamish mom really is, maybe because it's cool. Whatever the case, Clash lasted a long time, long enough to see the boys turn to men. Of course NO ONE was home when I discovered his demise so I cleaned out the tank and removed the body. He was a cute thing and I actually am glad I cared for him.

Bye Clash!

Clash in his final resting place, rest well Clash!

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