It has been a sad but edifying couple of days here at our home. We arrived from a one day vacation to find that Magic, our family dog, had died while we were gone. Although, it is impossible to know the cause, we suspect that she must of been sick. She had been quite lethargic and stopped drinking as much a few days before we left. You can imagine the kids response as we told them, late Saturday night, especially Alison. She took care of Magic. I was even a little shocked at how hard I took it. I know you all think I am heartless, but I now have evidence that I am not. I stayed up and buried her Saturday night and then today we had a "service" where a few of the neighbor kids came over and they all shared what they liked most about Magic. The kids drew pictures, I made a grave "stone" out of a piece of 2x10 and a couple of stakes. It was cute, neat, I don't know if those words are right, but it was good. Stephanie read long ago that one of the greatest blessings of having a pet, is it teaches your kids about death. That doesn't sound like a blessing, but surprisingly I think they are right. Last night to help calm the kids a prayer was said, and today they were reassuring each other that Magic is going to a better place. We will miss Magic, there is no question, but today there was a lot of love in this home, for which we are grateful.