Rest in Peace, my little friend

A week ago yesterday, I laid my little friend to rest. Obie, a 14 1/2 year old Boston Terrier. He was with us for 13 of those years. I have never grieved anything or anyone like I have him. I have a physical ache in my chest and heart. I miss him so badly. I have been trying to focus on the good times and happy memories. His last year with us was hard. He never adjusted well to the yard and house as he was blind. I now look back on the last year and realize that I could have helpe him more. I spent too much time complaining about cleaning up pee and being aggravated that he was always wanting to be under my feet. Now I can look back and see he just wanted a safe place to be. And he thought that was next to me, or Day. I miss him so badly. I second guessed myself a lot........."was it really time? was he really that bad?.......could I have loved him back to health......?" Let me tell you something. The things that seemed SOOOOOO important, well, I have found they're just not. The petty things we used to quibble over, they're not so life changing..........I'd give almost anything to clean up a little puddle now. I miss him and can never say it enough. How I wish I could do the last year over. I'd love more and help more and complain less. What an expensive life lesson to learn. Make every day count, folks. You never know when it's going to be a "last" for someone you love. Yes, I know to a lot of people he was "just a dog." But not to me. He was my child, my buddy, my pooch for 13 years. And I don't know that there will ever come a time I don't miss him.

Rest in Peace, my little friend

A week ago today, I laid my precious little friend to rest. Obie. A little Boston Terrier. He was 14 1/2 years old. We had him for 13 of those years. I miss him incredibly. My heart and chest literally ache. Not a day has gone by that I don't at some point go around a corner or down the stairs and I find myself just seeing him in my mind's eye, laying on the floor. I have never grieved anything or anyone this deeply in my life. He was like my child. I felt just awful making the decision to put him to sleep. But it also hurt me to see him falling down stairs, wobbling when he had to go to the bathroom and getting stuck in corners and not knowing where he was. I held my arms around him while his vet of 12 years gave him the shot. It was very peaceful, but my heart just broke the moment I felt the life go out of him. I began to second guess myself..........."could I have loved him back to health..........what if I'd just tried a little harder...........what if I'd just complained less....?" His last year here was hard. And now I wish I had it to do over again. I wish I'd been a little more patient and held him more. I am telling you folks, if you have a special little buddy in your life like this, you understand. But if not, please remember.........tomorrow is promised to no man. or woman. or doggie. Life is precious. Stop worrying, complaining and fretting about stuff. Don't get in petty squabbles...........I see now that nothing is that important...........I have done almost nothing for a week. And life is going on. Dishes will still be there, bills will be there, but the stuff that really matters..........those you love...........that's what we need to concentrate our time on. I will miss my little friend horribly. I hope that some day the ache I feel now won't hurt as bad. I hope that some day I can focus more on all the life and good times we did have together, instead of all the times I wish I'd done it differently. Life doesn't give us "do-overs." One chance is all we got. Make it count people.

My People International

Friday, October 6 at LaPorte Vineyard, Day and I are hosting a presentation of My People International. National Director, Terry LeBlanc, a Native Canadian, will be telling about what MPI does. If you or someone you know has a heart for Native Americans, PLEASE pass this info along. We will be having dessert and coffee after the presentation. The schedule is not fully put together yet as to how many and who will be here. We are hoping to have some dancing and drumming. If you have ever thought, "I'm just one person, what could I possibly do?" then here is the place to find out how you can get involved. You can email or call me for more info, and if you are coming, please RSVP so we can get an idea of how many will be coming. You can go to mypeoplecanada.com to check out Terry and see a really neat video and just learn more about what they do.