Sorry to hear that, Auld. I agree that children can be pretty resilient, though.
It's more trivial, but one of the hamsters died last week (the white one). This is what the initial conversation went like between DH and me:
"It's been very quiet in there for a couple of days. Could you have a look if the thing is still alive?"
"Is now a good time? I mean, we're both on leave next week and if we told the boys then it would be easier".
"FFS what are you going to do? Leave the dead hamster in my kitchen until it's a convenient moment? Or get rid of the blardy thing and then have the children suddenly realise it's vanished and start asking questions?"
"Um yes, I suppose that might be a problem".
"So when you pop your clogs I should look at my diary and if I've got leave coming up, bung you in the deep freeze until it's a convenient moment to deal with you?"
"I don't suppose we could put the hamster in the freezer?"
"No we blardy well can't!!"
We had a little funeral later, and all said something about the hamster. DS2 said:
"Dear God, we have known Nibbles since he was one week old and I hope that in his next life he was as happy as he was in this life".
Felix then started panicking as we put Nibbles into the earth (with DS1 solemnly saying "Ashes to Ashes, Dust to Dust") as he thought the hamster shouldn't be treated like that.
We then came inside and DS2 did some homework. We had to log onto an online reading scheme where he was supposed to choose a story to practise. Of course he chose the one about hamsters, despite my exhortations, and after every screen cried out, "Oh, Nibbles!" and cried a bit, but then carried on reading in a somewhat sad voice, By the end he was fine.
He's over it now. But had this happened before his GCSEs they would have given him a 5% concession!