CHAI
This is the 18th Serendipity Photo Prompt.
Eighteen in Hebrew is “Chai,” which means life. Every ending contains the seed of a beginning.
Today is our little dog Nan’s date with destiny. We’ve been looking for a way out of this. Trying to find any excuse to make it unnecessary. Make it not true.
Life and death are imperatives. No matter how we parse it, Nan has run out her string. She can’t hear, barely sees, can’t manage the stairs. She has little sense of smell and often isn’t sure who we are — or for that matter, who she is.
All of which accounts for my dour mood.
Simultaneously, Amber, the mini-dachshund, has breast cancer. She isn’t well, isn’t happy, won’t eat. I suspect her final days are approaching too.
One is hard. Two are very hard.
The only good side of all of this is that finally, the family is acting like a family and pulling together. Setting blame aside, now it’s time to do what needs to be done for the good of the creatures we love.
FINDING something POSITIVE AMIDST THE GLooM
It has been a good week for pictures. Garry and I took a lot of pictures in town recently. At the dam, on the Commons.
WHAT ARE THE COMMONS?
The commons is that big green lawn in the middle of most New England towns. Boston’s got a huge one, Uxbridge has a rather small one.
The Commons
Originally, these green spaces were called commons because they were a common area where everyone could graze sheep.
Yes, all you cowboys. Sheep. Because sheep give wool and wool becomes warm clothing, sweaters, stockings, coats. Even big Pilgrim hats.
Winter in the northeast is a cruel mistress. We need all that wood to make the warm clothing that keeps us from freezing. We thank our friends, the sheep, for their donations. And let them graze on the Commons.
You can write anything about anything, as long as you link a picture to the story. You can link several pictures and more than one story. This is a free writing challenge. Have fun.
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Categories: #animals, #Photography, dogs, Life, New England
SERENDIPITY - SEEKING INTELLIGENT LIFE ON EARTH 
Heart hugs and love…
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Thanks. Our leaves are turning already. I’m thinking it’s the low rainfall that’s doing it because it is very warm and humid, not fall-like at all. How’s it up there? We’ll be in Vermont in a few weeks, but I figure it’ll be full color by then.
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Here is my entry. http://soulnspiritblog.com/2015/08/13/when-you-lose-a-pet/
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And a very beautiful entry is is. Thank you!!
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I just felt it. The picture was so different. Thanks.
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She had a lot of soul, that little doggy.
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I updated my post by adding photo credits. I added it before publishing but it was not there when I checked the post. I must not have saved it. My apologies.
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I have no problem with you using my pictures, and I sign them, so they are credited anyway. Hugs.
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🙂
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I hope it all went as smoothly for you. The dog’s short life is the price we pay to have the privilege of their existence in our lives, I think. May two new beautiful seeds be born.
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Thank you. As smoothly as these things can go, it went. Nan was old. Deaf. Nearly blind. Hardly any sense of smell left either and she did not always know where she was. She was, for all that, happy, even though she could not longer manage stairs and Garry had been carrying her in and out of the house for months. It was time for her … and for us. She was loved and cared for, and did not suffer. I miss her.
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Thank you for your loving sharing and for you openness. It speaks to the experience of many and helps them to resolve just a little bit more of what they carry in the way of regrets and sorrows. Thank you Dear One, and Bless you both.
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Thanks Tasha. I think from this point, it gets better. At least for a while. Been a hell of a couple of weeks 🙂
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I am so sorry. I know how much the dogs mean to you and Garry and to have to let them go is very hard when it’s two of them at once. I’ll be thinking of you both.
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Thank you!!
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I’m so sorry!
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It’s done. Now it’s time to move on. Which, hopefully, we can do. It’s been a long day and a long couple of weeks. I’m beat.
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I don’t know what to say. I can imagine what you’re going thru. Take care.
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Thank you for your kindness. We will feel better after awhile. We are still missing her. There’s that sense of absence, the little girls missing from her place on the sofa. But time will heal. Thank you again.
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I know how you feel. I cried my eyes out when one of my cats was killed. When my other cat went missing I knew it had died as one day while lying on the couch I could feel him on my legs. It was his way of saying goodbye. I felt so lost without them. They were my babies and i would talk to them all day. So I am thinking of you both and cry all you need to.
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I think I did most of my grieving in advance. I spent the last week crying. Garry is a different kind of griever. He merely points out he is miserable, but he doesn’t want to discuss it. He just wants me to know how he feels. I understand. That’s the way we are. Time will help. Thanks for caring.
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You got me crying again, but in a good way. Thank you.
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