Seeing through stiches

On the weekend, we visited our beloved cat Cleo`s grave. She's buried on a beautiful hill overlooking the ocean.  Initially, when she died, we feared our kids` reactions, but both of them have taken it in stride.

The season has changed and new cats have made their mark(s).It is only now, months later, that the questions and the wondering has begun.

My daughter urged us to read the book Island Boy.  When we finally read it this weekend, I learned that it is essentially a fairly linear story about a boy who grew into a man and lived more or less his whole life on an island.  He travelled on the schooners up and down the eastern seaboard, but he always returned home to his island.  The book ends with his death where he was buried under a beautiful apple tree.

I was curious to know why my daughter liked the book so much.  She proceeded to explain how even though he is dead he remains on the island and that is somehow important in her mind.

After we visited Cleo's little resting spot, we had a discussion about the difference between ghosts and spirits.  My answer was something like, "a ghost is unhappy, a spirit is free to fly around and be happy."

``Is that true Mama?``
``Yes. I think Cleo is a spirit.``

Last night before he fell to sleep, my son whispered to me, "I miss Cleo, but we can talk to her at sunset."