To fight off the winter blahs around here we try to stay busy and stick to a schedule. I guess it’s Doc’s way of powering through the cold, dark winter and the pandemic at the same time. Her motto is, stay focused, stay busy, and get your daily exercise outside even if the air is so cold that it hurts your face. So far this plan has worked and today I thought I will would fill you in on one of the exciting things we have been focusing on in case you need an ideas to ward off your own winter blahs.
Humans have a strange ritual of accumulating a lot of stuff and then complain about how much stuff they have. I find this odd as everything I own could probably fit in a small garbage bag. Anyway, Doc is now on a kick to get rid of the things she no longer needs or wants. So every day after work she chooses a closet or drawer to clean out and I thought it would be kind of boring to watch until I started seeing the things she was pulling out of the drawers and closets. It was kind of like a treasure hunt and I think even she was surprised by what she found.
Yesterday, after looking at and throwing out your standard accumulation of old cards, paperwork and receipts that were in a drawer she was tackling, she was tickled to find two twenty dollar bills she quickly stuffed in her pocket. That was the find of the day until she found a manila envelope at the bottom of the drawer that had been buried under some old paper work that she had forgotten about. As she slowly opened the folder, I saw the expression on her face change and I moved in closer to see what she was looking at. Inside was an 8×10″ picture of a dog that I had never seen before. ” Who is that dog? ” I asked Doc. ” That was my dog Blake. ” she said with a hint of sadness in her voice. ” He was my dog before you came to live with me Grover. He got sick with cancer very suddenly, was in pain and I had to have him put to sleep so he would not suffer anymore. It was one of the hardest things I ever had to do. He was a sweet dog and I was sad for a very long time. After about six months I knew it was time for me to move on and I decided to adopt you and I am so very glad that I did. You bring joy to me and everyone you meet. ” I didn’t know what to say so I leaned over and gently licked her hand and stayed next to her while she kept on cleaning out the drawer.
Later that evening, after thinking about everything Doc had told me about Blake, I just had to ask her. ” Will I die one day too? ” Doc looked at me and replied, ” Yes Grover, one day you will die too, we all have our time. But I don’t want you to worry, I will be by your side when it is your time and I will never forget you. You will always live in my heart just like Blake and all the other animals that I have been blessed to have in my life.” Every one of you has brought something special into my life, just as you have. So for now, we will enjoy our time together. I am so glad I found this picture. Now lets put Blake’s picture up where we can see it everyday.”
Doc ended up placing the picture of Blake up on a shelf where we can see it. I think both of us are glad Doc found that picture today because it is comforting to feel like Blake is watching over us. You just never know what treasures you may find.