December of last year, I wrote my last post and then nothing…until now. I meant what I stated, but then I went out of town for a few months, came back for a moment and left again. I am trying to decide the direction I want to go with this blog. I mean, I wanted a place where I could just write what I was thinking and/or feeling – but then I had a bit of backlash and didn’t want to deal with the drama. I got fed up and stated I was just going to be me, but now I’m asking myself if that’s what I really want to do.

Let’s face it, with the way the world currently is, it really doesn’t matter if I post actual facts to support my stance on a subject, there is a huge amount of the population that have just decided facts do not matter. They no longer believe the experts on a particular subject; they believe the politicians. It is sad and scary all at the same time. These appear to be the same people who want small government, want the government to stay out of their lives UNLESS it is something that goes against their religious beliefs. Trying to have a discussion with this mindset infuriates me. So, I find it pointless.

Now I’m trying to figure out what will work. Something that I find interesting enough to write about, but that isn’t too narrow of a topic…I’m thinking. I’ll figure it out, but I did want to touch base and explain my absence.

Thank you for your patience.

I haven’t posted in a very long time. Our house was being worked on, we were dealing with stuff and to top it off, six months ago, today, we lost our little guy, Chaucer. No one could have prepared us for the gut wrenching pain we went through. Nothing has ever hurt like this. For 36 hours I was either drinking or already really drunk, but I did that on purpose. The first night, Jason and I sat down with a brand new bottle of Salted Caramel Crown and we drank the entire thing. I told him then that I had no intentions of being sober for 36-48 hours. I promised myself I would ‘sit’ with my emotions then, and that is what I did.

For the first three or four days I walked through a haze. We went to the gym, I functioned on autopilot, but the pain just held on so tightly, I was unsure I would ever be the same. About the fourth night, I had a vivid dream. Chaucer came running into the bedroom, but he looked more like Marmaduke than himself. He came over to myside of the bed and I just held him and said “so that’s how you saw yourself…?” The next morning, the haze was gone, but the pain was still so strong. Many nights I would dream of him, or I would feel him walk across my legs. Several times I felt him curl up against my side and twice I reached up and felt his fur.

We’ve gone through many, painful firsts. First road trip without him, first time driving by the vet’s where I watched him breathe his last breath in my arms, held up by my husband’s trembling yet strong arms, and many others. Coming home still hurts, because he isn’t there to greet us. Coming down the stairs in the morning and not having him there to do his morning dance for me, the one he would do to show how happy he was to see me up and about. So many moments, so many memories. I still see him, sometimes, when I look in certain areas, or I’ll catch movement out of the corner of my eye and think it is him.

Now, many of you may not understand, tell me he was only a dog, but you would be mistaken. He was so much more than that to us. He was the love of our lives, he was our fur baby, he was our constant companion. Also, I spent the better part of the last 9 1/2 years of his life with him 24/7. He was a part of my day, where I went, he was not far.

Now that he is gone, I am a bit lost. I keep myself busy with things, trying to preoccupy my mind. The pain isn’t out in the open anymore, but it isn’t far from the surface. I still cry easily, just thinking about him. There are things of his that I have not been able to let go of, and while cleaning our bedroom today, I found his original chew toy.

There are no words that can make this better. I still get sad on Tuesdays and the 19th of any month, but I’m no longer counting the weeks. I’ve stopped telling him “we’ll be back soon, boo” every time we leave, now it just happens occasionally. I talk to the sweet Yorkie angel my husband got to put his ashes in, and sometimes I say hello to him when I look at his pictures.

It still hurts, some days more than others, and the thought of getting another fur baby turns my stomach. I realize that it won’t be this bad with another pet, because I will never have that type of a bond again, but for now I just cannot even think about it.

We were blessed in that several of our friends gave us wonderful little mementos to help, and Jason and I both got tattoos of his pawprint, and oddly enough, looking at these things gives me a bit of peace, somehow making me feel like he is still around. Jason and I have been able to take comfort in each other. Both of us know exactly how the other is feeling, and that helps.

I do not know when I’ll have the words to post about anything else. I have to get past the pain; to get to a place where I can just let the words flow again without fear of what I might feel. However, from what I’ve gathered, I should be able to get there before too long. I know that the pain will always be with me, but I also know that in time it will just be a part of me and no longer trying to consume me.

Thank you for your patience and your understanding…

I am reading this book called Jesus, Interrupted by Bart D. Ehrman; I have only read through chapter 2, but I wanted to document some of my thoughts while they are fresh in my mind. Continue reading →

I’ve been absent for quite a while, and it isn’t because I do not have anything to say but more along the lines of I didn’t have anything to say that wouldn’t offend someone or cause tension between myself and a good friend of mine. So, after many nights of writing and rewriting this in my head, I’ve decided to write a post with a couple of my ‘unpopular’ opinions. These are my opinions and it is okay if you do not agree. I’m not posting this to have a discussion with you, I am posting them because I created this blog as a place for me to put my words out into the universe. So, here we go… Continue reading →

When I started my first round of Whole30 on September 1, 2019, I was a bit skeptical and more than a little nervous about my ability to actually see it through. As we all know, follow-through is not my strong suit. Continue reading →

I did it! Today marks the end of my challenge to write every day for seven straight days, and I actually did it! I was not sure, in the beginning, if I would do it all here, but I decided this was the best place – that way I could be held accountable. Continue reading →