Its not about me

One period of mourning is over the next one not as bad. I took the day yesterday to put away a few of Millies things and grief overtook me.  I had to stuff so much of it down to be able to go to work and do my job making sure I didn't bleed out onto our patients. It was a difficult week and it was bound to catch up to me and it did.  Millie was my grief counselor and the one I turned to. She listened to me cry and heard me pray and rant and ask stupid questions like Why? Realization is just now settling in yet again. My crutch is now gone and I go it alone.
    Up until this time I thought I was doing it alone within the confines of my family of course but I had Millie to care for. She has been the most healthy dog up until this year and I had to give her extra attention this year. But now, what has hit me this morning, is for the first time in over thirty years I have no one or no thing to take care of. I am responsible for me only!  This is why my emotions were so jumbled and this is what I couldn't put my finger on until this morning.
    So how does this look? No wonder I feel so lost and confused. Will I become selfish now that I have only me to look after?? Oh I hope not. I hope it means the opposite that I will be freer to be more available to others.  It is an odd feeling. It was the strangest thing to be able to buy new clothes for myself just two short years ago, but I can do it now without feeling guilty. So I assume this will get normal for me too someday. I see it as an opportunity for me and I intend to make the best of it.
     I know I am never really alone, and even though it sounds like I feel alone my God sent a friend to reach out on Facebook to keep me from getting too close to despair.  He didn't even know our chat yesterday was just what I needed to snap out of myself and back on the target of getting over it.  Then God sent my sister to distract me with a totally stupid silly movie.  So I am never alone, though I may get lonely, God provides my every need!! I feel so much more on track this morning with new direction and new focus. It's not about me, its about others now. The comfort I took in caring for my family was a perfect ministry for me. It was safe and comfortable and I loved every second of it. As the last string is cut, I look forward truly to my next big or little mission for my life.
So Millie, once again you have helped me by leaving me so I can stand alone unencumbered to be able to do what you did so well, be there for those in need.

Goodbye Millie

    The ceramic tile on the kitchen floor was a hard place for me yesterday, as I sat petting my beloved Millie as she was settling down from her last seizure which had occurred about two hours prior. We just silently kept company as I awaited the hour I knew was to be the time of her death. Her brilliant blue eyes never lost their twinkle for me even while she was disoriented from her seizure. She recognized me and wagged her tail and greeted me with as much love and fervor as she had done at every greeting since we got her. This precious creature God sent to our family after losing our other sweet dog, a Cocker Spaniel named Lady. Millie was our rebound puppy born on St. Patrick's day in the year 2000 which was how she was named Millie. It was short for Millennium.
    She loved us all well but she and I spent the most time together since I had been a stay home mom for so many of our thirteen years together. Actually it has only been this last year and a half that I have been separated from her so much because of my new lifestyle change and having to work. She was blessed to have my parents to be home with her daily so the transition in her elder years was not as traumatic as it could have been. They cared for her and loved her too. She never allowed any one of my children or yard children to go unannounced or un welcomed when they came back for a visit. She barked and ran around the yard and the house yipping and heralding the arrival of a very special guest. She could not contain her joy and it spilled out to us all.
    I had to come home from work yesterday to be with my Millie. As I walked to the backyard where  she paced aimlessly trying to get her bearings again after her seizure, she recognized me.  Her quizzical look after greeting me asking "what is going on with me mom?" is still with me. This is how I know I am through with my mourning process and am out of my "wilderness". I prayed for  God to  please take her while she slept so I wouldn't have to make this decision. Steve made the decision for Lady to be put down. So you understand since Steve's death three years ago in October of this year, I haven't had to make decisions this huge. They were pretty much made for me and the way was prepared for me. I was sheltered by God and his grace and mercy were my provision as He became my ultimate provider while I recovered. This was a tough decision and I felt like I was killing her and even used this harsh terminology with my friends who tried to convince me that I was showing her mercy. I don't know if it was mercy for her because she never seemed in pain or if it was selfish mercy for me after watching her recover from her seizures. I will have to figure that out on another day.
    So Millie I have been told I made the right decision and I will live with that choice. It hurts me so deeply when I close my eyes and still seeing your beautiful blue eyes looking at me as I discuss, right in front of you, the decision I made with the vet. You were by far the sweetest, best friend I had. You were most definitely the best prayer dog ever and I will miss your comfort. You loved the woods and roaming free and I felt very blessed when friends offered their "pet cemetery" as your final place to rest. You would love it because it is close to the bayou and plenty of woods for you to get lost in. Thank you mom and dad, Joe and Barbara and my dear Bernadette for helping me during this sad time. You made it so easy and yes the decision was hard but I recognize Gods hand in the peace filled, loving path set before me afterwards.
    I miss my morning licks to wake me, I miss my evening greetings, but most of all I miss your unconditional love, Millie. I do hope dogs go to heaven because Millie you were the best! 

Walking through the doorway of breakthrough

Mourning is done..I am officially entering a new place more challenging yet exciting than the last three years of my life. I am moving forward again not drifting or floating but with purpose and direction. The direction is forward and upward. My head is clearer, my heart opening up again and the world just seems brighter. My spring is here and it is summer. There is a season for everything under this sun and I may not be in season with nature but I am in season with me.
Last weekend was our wedding anniversary and I found myself on a road trip visiting with my kids. It was made more enjoyable by the friendly drive I had with a long lost male friend from high school. We made excellent traveling companions and I felt completely safe. What surprised me most was that I was lost in my new life and not in my mourning anymore. I acknowledged the date but didn't grieve it.  I am in my breakthrough finally able to say and mean I have re-entered my life again. I can be of help and assistance and think with a clear head again and not worry about bleeding out onto another hurting soul. It is such a great feeling.
I thank God for all those wonderful people He put into my path to help me process my emotions which can I say were extremely out of sync! I thank God for the widow before me, the widow after me, family, friends all strategically placed in my life to bring me back to life. I have lots of living left to do and plan to use my time as wisely as I can. Thank you to you insane people who cried with me and watched me blog through this awful transition. I am about to put the Mantle to bed and bring out the dancing shoes. God you have turned my mourning into dancing. Woo hoo look out world here I come. I crack myself up sometimes but I am laughing again. Love you all and who knows I may continue to blog the scary exciting new world ahead. ;-)