goodbye

Today, we said goodbye to our beloved dog Buster. Fifteen years of memories flood my head and heart. Each of us feels broken as a part of us is gone.

I was looking through pictures from the last month and I kept coming back to this moment. Over and over. Not because it is the best picture or memory we have of him. I stop, because this was our ordinary, our mundane, our everyday. Him, by our side. Him, as part of our world. For fifteen years, he was there.

There are parts of our life that are so normal, so every day, that we forget to even notice them. We take them for granted, almost like the breath that comes from our lungs. And then one day we wake up and something has changed. The normal; whatever it was, is different. I don’t want to notice the beauty of the everyday only when it is gone. I want to embrace it and appreciate it. I want to see it. The everyday; the habitual, the predictable, is what makes our life a complete story. Life simply isn't made up of grand picturesque moments. I want these seemingly insignificant moments to be etched so deeply in my heart and eyes that I never forget them.

I am grateful for all of the years we had with Buster. I am thankful that his life was full of joy and good health until the very end; yet, I long to have him with our family again. I wake up each day and feel such a void. There is nothing to take away this hurt, but I find peace in knowing that he is now without pain. These images will serve as an important reminder to me. A reminder to slow down, to notice and be grateful for all of the beauty God gives us in each day.