“Although it’s difficult today to see beyond the sorrow, may looking back in memory help comfort you tomorrow.”
August 14th, 2024, the day my beloved pet rabbit, James, passed away. Ever since I was in 4th grade, we had a pet rabbit by the name of James. Around the time we had gotten him, our family was going through a lot of issues. My parents had just recently gotten divorced and we were struggling. My father wasn’t a very good guy, I never really knew this until my Senior year. I had always seeked validation from him without knowing the things he had done. Senior year summer he had told me over the phone that he would rather have me go to parties, smoke, drink, etc instead of being a nerd and a loser; so you can tell what type of guy he is. Anyway, because of my parents divorce we had to move from Pico Rivera to Fontana; I had moved a few weeks before the end of 5th grade. James was with us the entire time as well, we moved houses 3 times and he was still the amazing little guy we all loved.
On August 14th 2024, I had gotten out early from school. I don’t remember why but I just remember not being at school that day, at around 1:30pm I heard my mom yell across the house. I ran over to see what happened and I saw her standing by my rabits cage screaming “James is dead” repeatedly. It was just her and I, and I had to do something so I tried to do what I could. He was laying behind his cage, not moving. I grabbed gloves and tried to pick him up, this is when he had started frantically moving. He was hurt and I wasn’t sure what to do, I had to support his neck with my other hand, he was really floppy. Eventually I would sit him in my arms outside, where he was slowly closing his eyes. My mom and I decided to take him to the vet to put him down, we didn’t want to see him suffer any longer. Before that, we took him to my older sister's work so she could see him one final time. The tears and sound of my sister's voice had caused me to begin to cry, the entire time I wanted to be there for my mom and make sure she was ok. The scene of the entire scenario was so heartbreaking that I don’t want to describe it anymore. Eventually we took him to the vet, to put him down, his breathing slowing, and his eyes closing. The veterinarian had eventually come in, and as we were saying goodbye, she had said “Good job buddy”, to my rabbit, for living and fighting for so long. It was at that moment, where I began to sob. I have only cried like that twice in my life, once when he had passed and the other around the end of September. Even though the entire situation was haunting, I felt it could’ve been worse. Thankfully I was randomly at home that day, thankfully my mom was checking on him, thankfully he didn’t suffer for long. There are a lot worse things that could have happened, but thankfully I was there to give our little guy a proper goodbye.
We were given the opportunity to cremate our beloved bunny. We had accepted it and chose the nicer option. Upon waiting a few weeks, we had gotten our rabbit's ashes and can finally say, he was home again. We were also given a farewell poem, the poem had read, “Although it’s difficult today to see beyond the sorrow, may looking back in memory help comfort you tomorrow.”
This poem had made me reminisce on our experiences with James, and what eras of our lives he has lived through. I had realized that he had been there for me through all my changes. Once I had gotten to a point in my life where I was happy with who I was, he had passed away. Me and my family like to think he was there to help us heal from the dark times, like an angel…because, once my entire family and I were all happy for once, he had passed away.
August of this year was a special time for me, there were a lot of ups and downs, but if it weren’t for the people who were with me at the time, I’m not sure where I would be today. His death was really hard on us, however, it was his death that had reminded all of us of the people we had become today.
I write and tell this experience because mourning is a really hard thing to go through. However, it isn’t the idea of them being gone we should remember them for, instead we should remember them for the happy moments we had with them.
I had once heard that, only things you had cared for can make you sad or upset, but it was those same things that made us once happy. It is a really nice saying that I remember and think of often, because even though we miss someone or something, those same things had once made us happy.
It is because of that, I remember those who had passed or had gone out of my life, with only love instead of bitter and hate. Love those who are in your life, love those who aren’t in your life. Forgive those who hurt, forgive those who hate, and most importantly, live everyday with love, respect, and gratitude. Thank you for taking the time to read my story, I hope you had something to take away from it, stay blessed. <3
♡ Rest In Peace James the Rabbit, August 14th, 2024 ♡
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