by Lyn Lomasi, Staff Writer

Death is a fact of life. But it really hits hard for kids. Recently, my kids lost a family pet. It was hard but some of the things I did helped them understand and get through it. When a child's pet dies, it's never fun. But you can help the process go more smoothly by taking various actions throughout the process.

Prepare them ahead of time. Ideally, you should discuss the death before it happens. Explain to your child the average time frame his pet should be around. Also, let them know what death is and why it has to happen. In our case, we adopted a hamster when he was already an adult. Hamsters live for an average of 2-3 years. So I prepared the children in advance for this day. We knew Buddy would not be with us very long. But we rescued him anyway so that he would be happy while he was on the Earth.

Break the news gently. Don't just walk up to your child and say their pet has died. If your child is not present when their furry friend passes away, sit her down and have a talk. In Buddy's case, we were all present when he passed away, so we talked about what he meant to us and how happy we made him. Because of Buddy, my kids and I will be rescuing hamsters as often as possible whenever we have room for them. Depending on your faiths and practices, you can go into more detail about what happens to the pet after death. But do it in a gentle way that your child understands.

Have a proper burial and remembrance. A ceremony helps kids finalize the death of a pet. We created a pet cemetery for Buddy in a garden area of the yard, complete with a tombstone. As Buddy was placed each person said what he meant to them. While this may not help your kids get over their pet right away, it does help solidify the fact that the animal is no longer going to be around. That goes a long way in helping kids heal. They need to have an honest and reassuring answer.

Do something in the pet's honor. As mentioned above, we placed Buddy in a garden area of the yard. In the spring, a garden will be planted there. Also, Buddy came to us in a special way. He was abused and neglected in his previous home and was an owner surrender. He was also an adult and blind in one eye. We took Buddy in, as his chances of another doing so were slim with his special needs. It is because of Buddy that we have rescued other hamsters and plan to keep up that effort to help other animals and keep Buddy's legacy alive. Doing a special deed in honor of your child's pet can help alleviate the grief, as it shows how special that pet is to the world.

*I originally published this via Yahoo Contributor Network

A few weekends ago, the kids had some good friends over and being a holiday (though, not one we celebrate in the most popular way), I had promised I wouldn't work too much. I never promise a whole day off because I'm a workaholic and a single mother. I also work at home so my work is readily available, but I digress. An opportunity presented itself to wing it, so I did.

Forming A Brilliant Idea

Because we had nothing better to do, I get this brilliant beyond brilliant idea to take all of my kids, both of our dogs, plus some of their friends and an extra dog to the park. I don't have a vehicle, so of course the plan was to walk on the trail that led us to the intended park. Our nature trails can take us to several parks, depending on which way we choose to go. We chose the largest park and headed that way. Yes, I am insane enough to take a walk with six kids and three dogs with only me as the sole adult. Us single parents know how to work it whatever it may be.

Learning the Many Ways To Wing It

The kids wanted to play on the way, of course. So who was going to walk the dogs? Why me, of course. Yep, winging it because I had never walked the extra dog before, nor had she been walked with our dogs and here I was about to hold all three of their leashes together. Thankfully, it worked out well. They had been introduced briefly a few times and apparently that was enough to satisfy them all. In some situations, you just have to go with the flow and let the chips fall as they may.

The restroom and drinking fountain were closed and of course the kids needed both so we made use of a nearby store for both purposes and went right back to playing. The dogs wanted to run around and the kids wanted to use the playground so I found a spot in the field that was next to the playground so I could run with the dogs while watching the kids.

Life Lessons In Winging It For Everyone

Throughout this walk and park visit, many interesting situations came up where I had to wing it. But that's life. No matter how much you plan things, sometimes you just have to wing it and in the end, you may find out that winging it is the both the best lesson and the best fun you've had in quite a long time. It's quite fine to plan things. You have to have goals. But it's also good to just let it go and let it flow.

All of these scenarios could have been stressful and some may not have gotten involved in the whole thing, to begin with. But I've quickly learned in many experiences that if you have an open mind and are aware of your surroundings (and all the many ways you can use them to your advantage), life can lead to some fun adventures.

Just wing it! Your life is waiting for you!

You're welcome.

Those of you who know me know how much I love animals. So it should be no surprise that this week was filled with animals for me.

There's of course our gazillion hamsters that I get to play with on a daily basis. OK, so currently there are 3 of them, plus a guinea pig, and my mom's cat.

As if we don't get enough animal fun with just that, we have to go and add animals to other aspects of our lives too.

At least 3 times per week (usually more), the kids and I go give attention the local shelter kitties. We went almost every day this week. We like to give them attention so they know they are loved no matter how the rest of their life ends up being. We're also working up to starting an official hamster rescue after our experiences rescuing hamsters in need.

More animals? Why, of course! I did say they were everywhere. As if I don't get enough of the cute little fuzzy creatures, I have to go and write about them, too. I also just found out that my animal obsession has earned me a spot in the Yahoo! Featured Contributor Program. I even earned a shiny new YFC badge in Lifestyle (the parent category of Pets). Yahooooo!

Apparently, for me, animals are everywhere!