Comforting Words

I can shed tears that he is gone, but
I smile because he lived.

I can close my eyes & pray he will come back;
I choose to open my eyes and see all he left.

My heart can be empty because I can’t see him,
However, I am full of the love I shared with him.

I can turn my back on the future & live in the past,
But I am happy for tomorrow because of yesterday.

I can remember him & only that he is gone; but
I’m joyful to cherish his memory & let it live on.

I had hired a woman, Diane, sometime last year to dog sit while I made a trip to the suburbs of Chicago. She is a dog lover, and Gracie and Sarge warmed up to her right away. She sent me the above poem in email yesterday, and I really like it. Diane said that she has kept this to read when she has lost pets as well as people in her life.

It has surprised and amazed me how many people have reached out to comfort me in the past week. Complete strangers whom I have never met are still calling due to the flyers we posted all over the area, asking if I found my dog. When I relate what happened, they express their condolences, and it truly upsets them that Sarge and I were not reunited.

Having Lily spend some time with us on Friday night helped Gracie. Lily is far more rambunctious than Sarge ever was, and gives Gracie the challenge she needs when playing. The long Nyla bone that Gracie is holding in the first photograph was swiped from her several times, while I stood on the deck laughing. It's hard to get good, clear shots of Lily when she is in motion because she is so damn fast. Silly Lily, you are a character.

After dark, we went into the bedroom to watch tv. Lily stretched out in the middle of my bed, with her head next to me leg. Gracie was on my left side, and I had a hand on each dog, lightly scratching. They both fell asleep.

Life is good.
Linda