Last week I lost my beautiful Syrian female, Maple. It was a devastating loss and I am still upset about it. Nonetheless I want to give her a little memorial on here, just so I can share with the members of HC a little of her personality and what she meant to me.
Maple was always the most mischievous of my three hamsters, but also the one that liked cuddles the most. At times she would sit on my arm and just enjoy a little tlc – other times she was having none of it and would try to sneak away. As if I wouldn’t notice!
I will share with you my top 6 Memorable Maple Moments (or MMMs, if you will):
1. Maple’s Epic Escape: When Maple was under 6 months old, she managed to detach the tubes connecting two of the cages she was in, resulting in the great escape! After emptying the spare room in an attempt to find her, she was discovered lurking in an upstairs bedroom behind a chest of drawers. Luckily the sound of food rattling in her bowl was enough to bring her scurrying out.
2. The Bonio Game: Maple was a little hoarder. I bought a box of dog biscuits for my critters to chew on, and somehow managed to invent this game, just with Maple, neither of the boys would do it. With Maple on the sofa, I would hand her a Bonio, she would store it in the corner of the sofa and then come back for another one! In the end she would have hoarded every single biscuit in the entire box in the corner of the sofa.
3. Severing ties with the Internet: Oops, Maple found the Internet cable! I suddenly discovered, while working on the computer that I had no access to the WWW! Sure enough, you can guess who was lingering in the general area of the modem router can’t you?! I will also mention that the many holes in the sofa, wholly and exclusively made by Maple, will stand as a lasting tribute to her memory.
4. Mountaineering: Maple has been the only hamster I have ever owned that has learned how to climb the stairs. I suspect it was a reflection of her rugged determination (she would spend an hour chewing food out of a tube, whereas the boys would give up after just sniffing it) and my certainty that she was a smart little thing- much smarter than the boys.
5. Teasing the boys: Maple was a bit of a flirt. She would squeak at the boys, who would enter a mad frenzy of squeaks in return. With her gone, a silence has fallen in the spare room (except when Titan squeaks for my attention) and the boys don’t talk to one another. I miss hearing them communicate, it was very sweet. If only I knew what they were saying to one another.
6. Sleepy: Maple would fall asleep on her wooden platform, with the little face smushed against the Perspex. It was so cute. One eye would be closed and distorted and the other would be open and watching your every move.
On the day she departed, I wrote a poem for Maple. I’ve been writing for just over a year and I find it a very helpful way to ease and express emotion. It is called ‘In Time’. If you would like to read it is below:
In time I will remember you with a smile on my face
and how much I loved you for your quirky ways.
The bond of love between us was trusting and strong
and nothing will change that even though you are gone.
For now, losing you rips a hole through my heart
It was hard to accept that we’d have to part.
But I know you’re at peace, somewhere, somehow,
so it’s only farewell, at least for now.
And on that glorious day when my time will come,
we’ll be together for eternity, playing in the sun.
©Hazel Colby (05.02.2014)
I hope you enjoyed my poem. I do have a book out should you be interested in reading more, it’s available on the Kindle store, simply search for Hazel Colby.
I don’t feel as though words can ever express how much Maple meant to me, nor what a chasm her departing has left in my life. I hope I have managed to share even just a little bit how special she was to me and how much I loved her.
To all hamsters that have departed this life, play well at the rainbow bridge.
xXx
A tribute to Maple...
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