Message for Dog Heaven

In my recent nesting frenzy, I cleaned out the top shelf of the girls' closet yesterday and found a box that Lindsey had decorated and cut out. The message I saw on the bottom, likely written six months or so ago (when she was 6 1/2), brought me to tears:

For those who aren't as fluent as I in the phonetic stylings of Kindergartners and First Graders, this reads: I miss you, Pumbaa. I love you. If I could see you one more time. If you can come back. I love you.

Pumbaa was our Mastiff that died last Christmas, and she wrote this long before Trooper, the new Mastiff puppy, came on the scene. If I hadn't already been talked into getting a puppy against my will, this is all it would have taken. I am so outnumbered in this regard.

I forget how much goes on inside our kids that we don't even know about. I wrongly assume that if I am not hearing about it, it is not happening. Young children have rich emotional lives and are dealing with things we don't credit them for. What a good reminder this is for me.

I love what Jay told Lindsey about dogs and heaven when Pumbaa died. Naturally, she wanted to know if she would see Pumbaa in heaven. Not wanting to explain the uniqueness of human souls, Jay answered, "If you need Pumbaa to be in heaven in order for you to be perfectly happy, he will be there. Because you will be perfectly happy in heaven." She was content with this, sure in her heart that he, then, would be there. Yet, Jay's answer allows that her understanding of perfect happiness may change over time.

And perhaps Pumbaa will be there, as God's special gift to us. That would be nice.