This morning, I got a text from Christian, who sent me a photo of
Gerald, the toad from 2013 that had popped up in his phone feed.
We found Gerald at the ranch, and he lived with us for over a year!
Nicholas especially loved this sweet, docile critter.
He would put Gerald inside his toys, or tuck him into bed in the dollhouse.
Gerald was probably one of Nicholas's inspirations and love for critters,
and he was heartbroken when Gerald passed on.
So tonight, it was a little heartbreaking when
Gigs came downstairs holding Kelly, one of his beloved reptiles.
He delivered the tragic news that she had passed away,
and when I asked him what happened, he seemed to be at a loss for words.
Through creativity and resourcefulness, he transformed a simple glass enclosure
from the Goodwill that was probably in someone's living room since 1980
into a pretty cool desert oasis for Kelly.
We discussed funeral plans, which were to place Kelly in his springtail enclosure,
where nature would take its course, and the circle of life would be complete.
He's really intrigued to see how they will decompose Kelly.
I'm not, really, but I acted like I was.
RIP Kelly.
While holding Kelly's little cold lizard body, we talked about
Gerald, and how sweet that cool dude was.
He told me he's learned so much since then (it was 11 years ago!),
like reptiles need heat and a better dwelling than a pink hospital
throw-up tub.
It was then that he informed me that he bought ANOTHER SNAKE.
I wasn't very happy about that news, but what a clever boy
to tell me this news when he knew I was already feeling sorry for him.
