Give the kid a break, please.

B.B. is very tender hearted. He cries at the drop of a hat, so I'm sure you can imagine what he was like when we told him Grandma-great passed away.

When Grandma B. died he sobbed for about 15 minutes while I talked to him & rocked him. Eventually he calmed down & went to get ready for school. As he walked away, he turned around & asked, "Which one was Grandma B. again?" That's what happens when your mother collects grandparents & you're born into a big, long lived family.

At Grandma-great's funeral Thursday, he really struggled. He really wanted to see her body to say goodbye, but couldn't stop sobbing long enough to speak to her. It didn't help that Husband and I fell apart, too.

Death is hard on him. Much harder than it is on the other FarmHands. So Saturday morning when he found Emmett (our parakeet) dead on the floor of his cage, I wasn't sure he'd be able to handle it at all.

B.B. fell apart. Husband suggested we go get a new bird that afternoon. B.B. said no, not yet. Instead he wanted to take Emmett outside & bury him by Andrew (our dog). I dug the grave while B.B., Bitsy, and #1 Son took turns holding (read: fighting over) Emmett's body. We buried him, made a cross from sticks in the yard, and picked bunches of flowers to decorate the grave. On our way up the drive from getting flowers B.B. wanted to call everyone who's ever met Emmett to come over so we could have a big funeral for him.

Yesterday we had to go to a small graveside ceremony for a woman who went to our church when Husband was a boy. B.B. didn't know her, but being just a few feet away from Grandma-great's grave, I was worried how he'd handle it. He did just fine (aside for some crying that it was too hot & he needed to sit down & why were we even there if we didn't even know her).

I think he needs a break. A few months with no more death. Is that too much to ask?