Last week, I had a Facebook message from a reader. At first, when I read her message, I really didn't connect the dots. I asked her to tell me more about her story and then, the dots were connected and I understood. She gave me permission to share her story and I think that it is well worth repeating so thank you Jackie!
Facebook Message I:
"I just have to share something that my niece's 12 year old son said after their beloved dog passed away. His family was so sad about it, and he said, 'Don't cry because it is over, smile because it happened.' He's an actor around the Twin Cities area (yes at 12!), and that is how he lives. Amazing young man, adopted from Guatemala. Anyway, I have it on my frig so I can read it every day because it is so uplifting. I am telling you because it might be something you can use in your blog. Your stories are uplifting as well, and it seems to fit. Hope you like it. His name is Leo, and I was there the day they brought him home. I knew there was something very special about him even then."
Facebook Message II:
"These words are so inspirational to me. Can you imagine him helping his parents and sister with them when their 13 year old golden lab died? Pretty special. Use them if you want, don't feel obligated at all."
Facebook Message III:
"I have been thinking about the words and why they hit me so hard. They are just so comforting when bad things happen, like losing your dog or a family member. Or, feeling sad when summer ends (remember those days?) and being happy because you remember the good days. Leo thinks of them when one of his shows end. Most actors who love their shows are very sad when it ends. I played trumpet for Les Miserables at the high school and one of the actors told me, 'I just want it back.' I think the words would be so appropriate in that situation. I lost my very special blind Cocker Spaniel last February, and I think if I had known those words, they would have been comforting to me then. Celebrate life and events in our life, that is the meaning, I think. (I rambled, sorry!)."
Yes, Readers, there are no reruns in life. The time to enjoy a relationship is while you still have it. The time to enjoy the friendship that a pet offers, it when they are with you. When life moves on, we can smile and be glad to have had the experience. I was thinking about the news that I received today regarding my friend's husband ... it is sad that so often it takes tragedy to get people to thinking. Once something is gone, it's gone ... period. Time marches on and stops for no one. The generations are born and die and bones left to dry to dust. We always think "I'll do __________ tomorrow." Yet tomorrow sometimes never comes. The time to live is in the now. THIS MINUTE!!!
I look back and smile at some of those moments when life was so sweet and full of joy. Yes, there have been times when I just didn't want an evening or a vacation to end and when it did there was this bitter sweetness. My life has been so full of valleys and mountains. As a small child I learned to block out the valleys and live in the pollyanna world of perpetual beauty. When reality hit, I learned that I needed to stay in the moment because it was in the moment that I would find wellness and be complete.
When I spent 30 days in the Women's Shelter, I got angry one day and I beat my fists on my bed and screamed ... "You will not take my life from me ... I will rise up from ashes and I will be somebody that will not be beaten down." Is it easy? Absolutely not!! Is it freeing? Yes!! I will go to bat for the underdog ... yet, I also know that I must take care of myself. That is not selfish. In my journey of life, I have kept journals for years. It is interesting at best to know where I've come from and make sure I am on track.
It's people like Leo that make the world a better place to live. It's people like Jackie that are so open and loving to recognize the specialness of a child adopted into the family. I admire them both. I've heard Jackie play the trumpet and her music sent chills down my spine. She is gifted. Leo, to you, I say ... keep on thinking those positive thoughts and reminding people to remember the good. No one can take away our precious memory-making moments!
I will end my blog today with Ecclesiastes 9:4-6
"Anyone who is among the living has hope - even a live dog is better than a live lion. For the living know they will die, but the dead know nothing; they have no further reward, and even the memory of them is forgotten. Their love, their hate and their jealousy have long since vanished; never again will they have a part in anything that happens under the sun."
Carpe' Diem ... Seize the Day ... YES!!
Thank you, Dorothy, for telling my small story in your beautiful blog. Reading it with your words included is an additional inspiration to me. My gift is music, your gift is sharing these inspirational stories of your life to encourage everyone else in your wonderful writing. Keep writing, I look forward to each blog.
ReplyDeleteYour friend,
Jackie