Ted Kennedy died today.

Dammit. Just.... Dammit. He was a great man.

I don't cry much, but I'm tearing up right now.

Rest In Peace, Senator Edward Kennedy. You will be greatly missed.

I guess I never mentioned it, but early on in April, my little sister, Gillian, got a hamster. She always wanted one, even though she knew they aren't the easiest pets to play with. She bought the hamster that she saw huddled in the cage corner, not getting her turn on the wheel, thinking that the other hamster's weren't letting her. We were at PetsMart (PetSmart?) for an appointment for Xander, because he had been throwing up a lot (and I cleaned it up almost every frakking time), and she saw the hamster, called my mom, and begged. She paid with her own money, and named her Diana, after the Roman Goddess of the Hunt, Moon, and Protector of Maidens. She thought Artemis sounded a bit too weird, and wanted to go with the more modern, human name Diana.

Gillian didn't realize that you're not suppose to play with a hamster immediately, so when we got home that's what she did. And I don't blame her, that thing was adorable. And Diana did seem to like Gillian, as much as a recently domesticated rodent can love a new human. Really.

A few weeks later, we had a little health scare with her. Gillian started freaking out when she saw symptoms of wet-tail disease in Diana, which is very serious and often fatal. Gillian felt incredibly guilty, blaming herself. We rushed her to the only vet around that would treat hamsters, but turns out it was only a mild, treatable infection.

Gillian was very responsible with giving Diana her medicine, but one day she didn't have time to and so my dad had to do it. If I remember correctly, Diana got out of her cage, with the cat nearby, so my dad panicked, grabbed Diana and held her tight. This of course terrified Diana and she bit my dad's finger deep and hard, my dad accidentally threw her. She survived all of this, but once she got back in her caged, she stayed in the wheel and was too scared to come out. From then on, my sister was too scared to play with Diana anymore. She tried giving her the medicine, but it didn't always work. But the infection passed.

Gillian checked up on Diana every day, made sure she had food and water, but other than that left her alone. Diana seemed perfectly content just running franticly in her wheel every night. She neglected to clean the cage, though.

But a couple of nights ago, Diana died. Gillian didn't tell any of us until yesterday when my younger brother Cole asked if she checked up on her. I think she felt guilty and too embarrassed to tell us. God, that just breaks my heart.

R.I.P. Diana the Hamster.

Source

Rest In Peace, Andy.

...Like that's surprising?

My great-grandpa's funeral will be today. I'll update after it.

My older brother's home now.

I really need to get to bed.

He died at 8:40 AM. He was 91. He was in hospice, his terms, his choice, prepared. But it still sucks.

I'm happy for him. He's with his wife. She died in 2002. Allison DuBois' books have really helped me, I think.

He was such an amazing guy. He was a genius, loving, family was always the most important thing in the world to him. He would tell my parents what a great family they had. (Hee, I'm a great kid, appearently!) Me and my younger siblings got to visit him last night. He was asleep, but he could hear us. He looked peaceful.

These past few weeks have been so hard on my dad. He was really close to him. But when he came home today, he seemed okay.

I think we're all just relieved it's all over. He's not in pain anymore.

To quote my mom, "Death fucking sucks."

I love you, Grandpa Dick.