****Before we get to the meat of this thing, you’ve only got until December 14 at 2359 central to enter the contest for the miserable (but clean) bedsheets and fruitcake. Don’t delay – subscribe now and enter to win! (Yes, I know we’re two weeks behind the original contest deadline, but I was a bit distracted.)****
First, to all of you who read my series about my girl, Maisie: Thank you. I track the web statistics and see that hundreds of you took the time to just look at her picture for a while. She’d like that. The girl loved an audience. Hated having her picture taken, loved the love.
Just wanted to report that the healing is underway. I got up today and had slept for 11 hours. Took a couple of days off sick from work to deal with incipient asthma problems and exhaustion from my crazy schedule and the emotional past few weeks. Felt pretty fine rolling out of bed.
Felt even better after breakfast at Mickey’s, 6 cups of coffee, and 4 glasses of water.
There was an uptick when I worked on the novel for a while. I’d gotten some awesome feedback on the critter and spent a few hours editing. (Not “happy” feedback but the kind I needed to hear. Thanks, Dylan. Solid critics who explain their reasons are a blessing.)
My background noise lifted the mood as well. I found some old Don Vogel bits on the web and laughed for hours. I miss him but in a good way. He’s been gone a long time (17 years… my how time does fly.)
Better still while I worked on cutting the material for the ramp up the back stairs. Ed is needing more help with stairs (he’s always had trouble mentally with the concept of going up stairs) and the ramp seemed a bit overdue. No verdict yet on whether or not he’ll use it. One of my neighbors built it for me (anything I put together would look like a very drunken moron had taken lumber, screws, six hours, and a large dose of blindness before starting to just bash things together at random.) I’m just cutting the non-skid patches to put on it.
And tonight we celebrated my wife’s birthday. We really didn’t feel like it when it rolled around a few weeks back. Something about a friend dying and wanting to be home with her in her final hours. But tonight we ate at the traditional place, Moscow on the Hill. The food was wonderful, the tea hot and tasty, and the company superb. We began the meal with a toast – to Maisie.
We will always love her and miss her, but the pooch should be toasted. She was a big part of our lives for ten years. And she was an incredible blessing in our lives. I’m a little choked up right now thinking about her lying next to me on the couch and watching the tube. But it’s a good feeling deep down.
It is inevitable that we will lose people and animals close to us. A good friend lost her dog Piper today. I’m sad for her from the distance. But the certain knowledge that we will all be together in Heaven sure softens that sting. I’m not racing off to meet Maisie again, but I’m not afraid of the reunion either.
A few years ago I thought I was going to die from a stroke. Didn’t have a stroke, but it seemed that was the case at the time. I was fine with it. I knew my destination. I just asked Jesus to take care of my family and my friends. That’s the kind of Grace that God gives us: we can pass from this life without fear. Doesn’t mean it won’t hurt. Doesn’t mean we won’t leave a bunch of sad people behind. But it does mean an eternity of joy with our Father above.
So today was a good day. One of many to come. An eternity of them eventually.
My question to you is what are you anticipating when you pass? Are you ready now to go? Is your eternity determined by your actions and belief, or will it be up in the air if something were to happen in the next five minutes?
I hope you find those answers in Christ. It’s a joy and a comfort. And I’ll see Maisie again. That’s a bonus.
