Oh, Candy, those childhood friends are the hardest to move on from. I'm so sorry, again. Gave my pony extra loving today. When my first horse had to be put down I wondered after if I had given him as many cuddles as I could have, so now I make sure I take the opportunity with my dog, with Dante (horse) and with Oscar to kiss them whenever I feel like it, cos you never know. Honestly, though, I think when you're ready you could try to think about what happened and that it would have been hard for your parents to make that decision and that it may have clouded their judgement re: letting you know. It has probably even affected how they relate to you since (and account for some of the angst you have between one another). Do you think? Well, regardless of what your relationship is with them, it would have been sad for them, too, wouldn't it? Especially if he was living with them and they saw him and talked to him everyday? That's gotta be hard, too. All you can do is just send a thanks to your pony for all the great memories you have and the lessons you learned from him...that always makes me feel better. Each animal friend I have teaches me something new and I have so much gratitude to them, especially when I have to let them go. It's probably too soon for you to see this, as it has effectively happened to you today. Anyway, I thought of you this morning.
And I did miss the farrier! Oh, well, they understand - the farrier has a 6 month old child!
Fabulous day today. Gotta take this dog and boy to the reserve. Right after I've swatted a few of these flies...