Stardust Meadow

Simple Ceremonies for Tiny Deaths The Tiny (physical) Deaths that we experience are insects, mice, roadkill.  Deaths of pets can range from a Small Death to a Big Death depending on how much of a part of our daily life they were.  The Very Big Deaths are the deaths of our human companions, caretakers, and children that we love.  Of course, sometimes the death of a pet can feel bigger than the death of a parent. It's all very individual. Here are some simple suggestions for commemorating the Tiny Deaths in our every day life. This is appropriate for toddlers, teenagers and adults. Noticing A Tiny Death Make sure you are in a safe place to look at the tiny death and use relative caution without paranoia. Dead creatures can still have ticks and mites on them and although it's not likely that you would contract rabies from a dead animal it is possible if you rub your eye or another mucus membrane after coming in contact with the animal's fluids. So, use gloves, sticks

This morning we woke up late to the sun pouring in our windows. Our toddler was mostly cooperative about letting her parents linger, but when I say we "woke late" understand that we pounced upon at 7:30 and laid in bed until eight. It's Christmas morning but we don't celebrate it in all it's glorious craze like so many. Instead we wandered downstairs, made coffee, started a fire in the stove, gave a cuddle to our cat Cuchatta and right there at her feet with a smile upon her face was a neatly dead Christmas mouse. Cuchatta was proud to offer this gift in exchange for some pretty talk... The only one in the family to do a gift exchange.  But, as a death doula, I know that this is actually the best gift our family could've been given. My father-in-law was diagnosed with non-hodgkins lymphoma this summer. He has lived with us in the past, and got quite close to our toddler, then moved back to Chile for a year and now is living near us again while undergoing tre