Pie and Daisy

Our trip to Central Texas was wonderful, and we are home safe and sound. We spent a couple of days hanging out with family, eating good food, and laughing. A lot. I am very blessed to be in a family where everybody loves one another and actually enjoys spending time together. I can't wait until we live much closer to them.

(And there was pie. I ate some. And I enjoyed every minute of it!)

We received some bad news while we were gone, and I think I should blog about it while I'm not crying and can think coherently.

My dog, Daisy, died on Sunday morning. She was a yellow lab and was 9 1/2. Our friends that were keeping her (and for that I feel HORRIBLE) said they think she must have had a heart attack. There are lots of details I will spare you from, but it happened and we are very sad. I think I'm the only one that has cried (openly), and the tears seem to come at random times.

I cried in the car on the way home from my parents' house knowing we were going to have to tell my autistic son that she wasn't coming back. I cried when I picked up the shovel to hand to my husband who was going to bury her out on our family's land. And I cried when we left to come home, feeling like I was deserting her though I know she wasn't really there.

She was a big dog who shed like crazy. She followed me all around the house and wanted to be at my feet at all times. Her nails on my wood floors got on my nerves and she had horrible breath.

But I will miss her so much more than I thought I would.

I used to roll my eyes at people who went overboard with their animals, treating them like humans. I would like to apologize to all those people right now.

I get it.

I know she was just a dog, but she was part of our family for 9 1/2 years. We got her when she was five weeks old and so, so cute. She never growled at anyone, never barked in the house, and pretty much house-broke herself. She was a great dog.

If you think about it, please pray for my youngest son, C. He is having a hard time understanding death and why Daisy isn't coming back. He's asking a lot of questions, which is great, but this is a hard thing for him to comprehend.

Originally posted September 2008 @ Mom in Transition