I’m feeling super sad tonight. Had an emotional day today. After we got home today, from picking the kids up from school, I was upstairs when I heard my oldest daughter screaming. I ran out of my room as she ran in crying for me. She was crying and yelling out “Mommy Mommy, Leo is dead!” I’ve never heard her so scared and upset in my life. I mean NEVER! I was so scared. Leo is, or I guess that now I have to say, Leo was my oldest daughters pet tortoise. She was not even 1 year old yet. She was born in April 2014 and my daughter got her in August. She has been talking about turtles and tortoises for as long as I can remember. When she got a job she immediately began saving money to buy a tortoise. She researched what she needed to buy for a pet tortoise. She searched for a breeder for a specific type of tortoise, the breed that is a smaller size and from a hot & dry climate. When we met with the breeder in the summer to pick up Leo, she was only the size of a toonie. She was so so tiny, so small she almost didn’t seem real, she was toy-like. We’ve watched her grow over the past 9 months. She grew so much it was hard to believe that all she ever ate was leafy greens. She grew to fill the entire palm of my hand. We would put her into a tupperwear type container with water and watch her drink and play around. Just yesterday she was walking around the living room exploring. This morning before my daughter left for school she fed Leo and said she was eating and walking around like normal. Unfortunately, she somehow managed to turn on her back, directly beneath her heat lamp. We’re not sure how she flipped over, maybe by trying to climb up the edge of her little terrarium. Regardless of how it happened, she was obviously on her back for too long. The heat on her belly, combined with being on her back are likely the cause of her death. I’ve never seen my daughter so so distraught…she was crying and rocking back and forth, saying over and over “No mommy no!!” It was horrible. What a helpless feeling. I was holding her and rocking her, but I couldn’t fix it. That is an awful feeling for a parent. Seeing your child hurting, but being unable to do anything to change the situation. It leaves me with an ache in my heart. She wanted my husband to take the terrarium out of her room. She asked me to tuck her in tonight. If she can’t sleep she’s going to climb into bed with us. I love her dearly and wish I could bring little Leo back. Oh. Look at my timing! She just came upstairs. Time for bed. So so sorry baby doll…

Hopefully one day I’ll get it right, or at least have fun, while about it I write!