10 year old female beagle just diagnosed with Cushings - Ginger has passed

[labblab]

Hi again, Colleen. I thought I'd pop back to add a little quote that I just came across this morning. I've been following some twitter postings about a mom in England who's trying to locate her little girl's beloved doll who was lost on a train trip. (IMO, this is the kind of thing that still gives social media some value -- it's amazing how you can mobilize the entire world to help problem-solve the search for a missing dollie!).

Anyway, one person recounted a quote which has been attributed to Franz Kafka at a time when *he* tried to help a little girl search for a doll lost in a park. Supposedly Kafka assured the little girl that the doll was off having new adventures of her own. And after time passed and the original doll was never found, he gave the girl another doll with a little note tucked tucked inside:

"Every thing you love is very likely to be lost, but in the end, love will return in a different form."

I have no idea whether anything about this story is really true. But the quote, whoever wrote it, has really struck me. It is so stark. It makes me cry, yet it also gives me hope. It has really affected me today. I thought of you, too, immediately. So I just wanted to share it with you since perhaps it will speak to you in some way, as well.

Best wishes as always, my friend.

[gingerbread]

Good evening my friends! Hope this finds you all doing okay on the Labor Day weekend. Today, Sept.1st is Ginger's Birthday. Her 4th in Heaven.. on earth it would be her 20th. Thinking hard about my little girl. I think of her
every day, miss her every day, but, as you all know the "Anniversary " days are hardest. Such a hole that little ol girl left in my heart... in a way I am really, really thankful for that hole.. I know what filled it for so many years and I am honored I was allowed to be her mom for so long. It is never long enough, never will be. Just try to hold on to the " what was". Hope you are yours are doing well, staying healthy. Blessings, Colleen

[labblab]

Hello dear friend Colleen! We’re very grateful for the opportunity to join you in honoring sweet Ginger. Where, indeed, does the time go??? At times, it seems like only yesterday that we were first bringing home our sweet bundles of fur. This past week would also have marked our little Luna’s earthly birthday — her 16th. That was also the time when my mom relocated to her retirement community here in Georgia. So we had her, Peg and Luna all three with us. I remember those days with such joy. What a very, very special time that was in all our lives.

I know you always carry Ginger in your heart, tucked safely in a most special spot. But as you say, I also know how poignant these earthly milestones feel. So I share some special hugs with you today, in honor of all our sweet spirits. Never to be forgotten. Forever in our hearts.

Love, Marianne

[gingerbread]

Good evening everyone. Hope this finds you and yours all well. Have been doing okay here. We are due for an artic blast the next few days. I think I am ready for spring! We are fortunate this winter has not been too bad. Some heavy snow, but so far little brutal cold.. that is until now.
Ginger still weighs heavy in my heart every day. I don't think that will ever change, I kind of think I don't want it to.
I guess to miss someone forever, is to keep part of them alive within us, to hold on to who they were and what they meant to us. As life moves forward you learn to carry them with you, not only in your thoughts but in who you are." I came across this post recently when one of my nieces list her husband Dec.15th to a hit and run.. she is grieving and searching, reaching out. Bless her heart and the kids. We talk, I let her share what she is comfortable with sharing. I know how important that is as I received so much of that here, with all of you and I am forever grateful.
Christmas was wonderful. I still put Gingers stocking up. It doesn't feel complete without it.
Momma continues on.. her dementia is getting worse, but she will be 95 this May, Lord willing. It is heartbreaking to see the confusion and the look of her looking lost. But all in God's timing. I am just thankful to be here to help and spend time with her. Everything else is about the same. Just wanted to say hello and wish you all a blessed and Happy New

[labblab]

Hello Colleen, and thank you so much for your well wishes. Thank you also for the poignant quote you included. I am so sorry for your niece’s loss, and also for your mom’s struggles. I surely do understand your gratitude, though, for the ability to still help her and spend time with her. Today marks the sixth anniversary of my own mom’s passing, and not a day goes by that I don’t think about her and miss her. In line with your own thoughtful quote, here’s a simple quote from an online posting that I saw just this morning. Somehow it gave me a bit of peace on a morning that I needed it.

“What is grief if not love enduring.”

Everything else still stays pretty much status quo with us, too. We’re also having some very cold weather down here in Georgia, with maybe a chance for a bit of snow tomorrow. But thank you again for stopping by. It’s always so good to hear from you!

Marianne