06/26/2025
TW: animal suffering
Today, we buried a turtle.
A lady came down our road; speeding, almost hit our dog and did hit one of our resident turtles.
My son came to get me and told me she was there in the road injured and suffering. She absolutely was suffering for a few minutes. She tried so hard to get up but she was too badly broken. Through thick tears, I had to pick her up off the road by sliding cardboard underneath her. She was a beautiful Eastern Box Turtle. She's one that has come around for years. And here she sat, completely crushed by a woman that didn't care at all about the nature here.
My whole family sat with her until she passed. We comforted her in her last breaths. We loved her even if it seemed insignificant to someone else.
My husband dug a grave for this turtle and I threw dirt on her grave. The kids put gladiolus on her grave. A small bit of kindness for an animal that truly brought us joy everytime we saw her.
The grief my family faces today isn't easy. Feeling a soul move from this world to the next isn't ever easy. But we feel it, all of us.
I wish that people could see the result of every action they perform. I wish they'd see the consequences that others have to face because of their bad choices. It's not fair to the innocent nature here. And it isn't fair to humans that care deeply, either.
The best we can do is to teach the next generation to care deeply about the nature around them. That is what will break this cycle.
