Good Bye, Douglas.

Douglas, the turtle, has been acting funny lately. Not moving much, not eating, keeping his eyes closed, etc. Do turtles hibernate? I thought I would try to lift his spirits today by taking him outside. We had lots of puddles in the driveway and tons of worms wiggling in them from the overnight rain. I thought he would be in heaven, seeing all those worms, but he didn't move much and only one of his eyes opened. I watched and waited for about a half hour. He seemed to have perked up a bit, so I left him out there, checking on him ever so often through the window. Then, doomsday came. I couldn't find Douglas and it was time to go get Anna from preschool. I dreaded telling her, but assured her that we would look some more. An hour of search and rescue, Douglas was not found. I told Anna that he was fine, nature is where he belonged. She cried and said, "I know, but if we find him, I can tell him good bye and then let him go into nature." My little animal lover was crushed... and it was all my fault. I lost Douglas.

I will be purchasing the cutest, softest, stuffed turtle I can find tomorrow. I'm so sorry, Anna.