I love nothing the way I love my dog.
There are many things in my life that bring me joy. I am passionate about nose work. I love sharing the car hobby with my husband. As a mother who would walk through a burning house to save my children (and sometimes life made it feel that way), my kids are my greatest accomplishment. I adore my grandkids and am truly grateful to be around to watch them grow, especially since my own parents were denied this pleasure with their lives cut way too short. My gratefulness runs deep in the love I have for my extended family. In my heart they form the trunk holding the branches upon which I could climb to the better life. And little did I know my husband, Mike, a keeper of terriers who appreciates my very terrier-like qualities, was God's answer to my question, "Is there a man out there for me?"
Sitting here in a tiny dining nook in a one room condo at a WorldMark resort while waiting for the completion of the building of our new house, I am getting a lot of writing done. When I am disciplined and dedicate myself to writing, I balance the time equally with reading. The most recent book I read moved me to tears, a memoir written by my publishing coach, Kerk Murray. In his book Pawprints on Our Hearts, Kerk remembers troubling and trying times where his dogs were there to help him through. I had to stop reading when I came across the picture of him and his dog, Lexi. It was their last photo together before Lexi's passing and it flooded me with emotion as if I were reliving the pain of every dog to whom I've said goodbye.
The emotions spilled out in tears rolling down my cheeks, as my husband, sitting at the table next to me on his computer, looked at me in confusion. He was perplexed by what could have possibly made me cry.
