You're Only As Happy...

as your least happy child. Or so I am told by my mother-in-law, Millie.

Right about now, my least happy child is torn up over the fact that our cat Jazzy escaped from an open window on Monday. It is now early Saturday morning and no Jazzy. The lengths to which I have gone to find this cat border on absurdity. I'm too tired to map out those logistics at the moment. Suffice it to say that I had to break it to Ethan that yes, Jazzy is lost. Oh the tears. Not whiny ones either. Just pure heartbreak. And my heart broke right along with his.

He cried off and on for three hours last night. I tried to distract him and it worked for moments at a time. Then he would remember and get sad all over again. I have to remind myself that this is the same child who could not get past the first 10 minutes of "March of the Penguins" because he was worried that a solitary bird did not have enough friends. He went nearly hysterical when watching the movie "Eight Below" because the thought of dogs being left alone in Antarctica for months on end was more than he could bear. When reading books to him, I have to be extra mindful of any sad element in the plot and edit when I can. He is very, very empathetic for his age and I love that about him. I just wish for his sake that he could ratchet it down a notch or two. It might make coping with life's inevitable sadnesses just a little easier.

So, the search for Jazzy continues. I would do anything to spare Ethan this anguish. The worst part of all of this is that I know that this won't be the first time he will feel pain, loss, or grief. I can't spare him and I can't endure those emotions for him. This is a very helpless part of the parenting arrangement. I guess the best I can do is to help him cope, try to keep positive about the outcome, and pass on some resiliency that he will surely need in the future.

The baby books just don't prepare you for this stuff. You just have to go on instinct.

By the way, I really miss Jazzy too.