Baby Birds and Other Lost Causes

Lest I think I already have enough to do...my children brought me a baby bird to care for. Yes, I have done this successfully and unsuccessfully in the past. This one is a lost cause because it fell from a high nest, and surely its insides are scrambled. But it is lively and hungry right now. I have always taught the children to have tender hearts for all living things, and that it is better to die warm and with a full belly, than cold and hungry. I am able to distance myself from this precious little creature,and feed it, knowing it will die in the next several days, just when it has lived long enough for me to become hopeful that it might survive. I have been through this numerous times before, and I really do know what the odds are. I used to cry and bury them. Now I just sigh and put their little bodies out with the trash. I feel as though there is some sad correlation here with the rest of my life.