Nama Stay

That light at the end of the tunnel ain’t a train…
It seems like lately there has been an inordinate number of followers of Charlie’s page who have recently lost canine and feline family members. Or it may be that FB’s algorithm has deemed it necessary to share this info with me for whatever reason; who knows why that they do what they do.
There has been so many sad posts flooding my feed that I feel more than just a little guilty, as I have not been able to express to each of them the level of empathy that many of you showed me when MacDuff passed six weeks ago this Friday.
But I now can tell you a tale of hope. Part of the reason that the Duff’s passing was abnormally hard is that I was convinced that he was put into my path to ease the eventual passing of Charlie, may she live forever. But then his flame was snuffed out so unexpectedly and even randomly; bone cancer? Really? In so young a dog?
But shortly before MacDuff’s passage, Nama entered the picture. Looking back, I now find it odd that I never thought about her what I had thought about him; that she was placed here for the same reason, just a different circumstance.
But when Duff died, my grief blinded me to the fact that my solace was right in front of me, and I actually found myself resenting Nama; how dare she think that she could fill the shoes left by MacDuff?
But here’s the good news; although it’s almost impossible to truly believe while in the cauldron of grief, the pain eventually does subside. One of my favorite passages is from the book Cold Mountain; I often preach it to others in their time of despair while neglecting to practice it myself:
“That’s just pain” she said. “It goes eventually. And when it’s gone, there’s no lasting memory. Not the worst of it anyway. It fades. Our minds aren’t made to hold on to the particulars of pain the way we do bliss. It’s a gift God gives us, a sign of His care for us.
Besides, when you get to be my age, remembering past pleasures is painful enough”.
And while the memories of MacDuff cruising through the Rockies will never be forgotten, it no longer bothers me so keenly as I watch Nama really beginning to come into her own. Just as I had to allow the Duff the space to grow into his own legacy seperate for Charlie’s, Nama now has her own story to fulfill.
As we all do; regardless of where we are currently at on our own particular journeys, this too shall pass.
We be of one blood, ye and I