“To lose balance sometimes, for love, is part of living a balanced life.”
-Elizabeth Gilbert
I fell out of balance last week – this from the girl who likes order and routine, as much as possible. Our senior sweetie, Sadie, struggled and the dilemma? You know the one. Is it time? For several days, we adjusted and responded to her decline in mobility, eating habits – and as much as we wanted to wish the reality away, it persisted.
I’m terrible at good-byes. As a kid who moved 10 times in 12 years, I became accustomed to the rituals, the assurances, “we’ll stay in touch” … “we’ll visit often” …words intended to calm and soothe a heartbroken little girl. Now I know the truth. Some beings – furry loved ones and humans – aren’t intended to be with us forever. We enjoy, love, and relish our seasons with them and when loss comes, focusing on sweet memories and loving moments helps to reset equilibrium.
On Friday night we had a family dinner with our daughter. The hubster, wonderful man that he is, decided Sadie might ‘join us’ and he put a pic of her on the TV near our kitchen table. Just like us, our daughter was bereft and sad and while the image of sweet Sadie on the hubster’s ‘jumbotron’ was startling at first, we acknowledged and welcomed her as we sat and shared a meal together.
We won’t do it again, but it was a fitting goodbye – a final family meal with our “other” daughter, sweet Sadie…the fourteen-year-old cuddle muffin who made our lives fun, wild and fantastic. And that? That’s what we’ll remember and hold dear.
Vicki 💖
Victoria Ponders 
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