Maggie

 She made the decision to trust a young girl nearly 12 years ago this October,

that decision changed the lives of at least 5 people.

Maggie was an abused, young, malnourished, beautiful dog,

and on that day, when a young girl and her mother went looking for a new dog,

she saw in them a new life, and the opportunity to love and be loved unconditionally.

She did that better, than anyone I've ever known.

She taught me so many things,

the joy in a stick, that a rock apparently tastes good

and that plain dog food can still be exciting because she chose to let it be.

She let me poke her and prod her, cut her nails and pull out her tufts.

She let me bite her ears, and never, ever bit me back

Some people say you can't trust a dog that big, a black dog, a shepherd, whatever,

a dog with a past.

But i absolutely trusted Maggie with every piece of my heart

and she trusted me, and because of that, it opened up a whole different life for her.

If only humans could forgive and love the way dogs do.

She spent  12 amazing years with a family that just adored her,

despite her incredibly loud bark and her insistence to bark at just about any noise outside.

Despite the fact that she shed in white tufts every spring and winter.

And it was because those big beautiful brown eyes never judged,

they just loved, they cheered you up, they made you think, and they let you know she was always there for you.

I think we've made the right decision, but it still breaks my heart

 i will never forget my Maggie.

Lessons

 Lesson of the day/week whatever

Think about how what you say affects others

Try to hear yourself when you're speaking to others

And not just when you're speaking to a stranger or a person of authority.

Think about it when you're speaking to your loved ones, your co workers, your kids, even your pets.

Are you still chosing your words carefully?

Making sure to come off as polite and kind?

Is your tone condescending or curt?

If the person or persons you are speaking to are intimidated by or look up to you, think even harder about how you sound. 

Do you want to give off an air of rudeness? Do you want people to dread your conversations? Think of that negativity that you are putting out there. If you believe that what you surround yourself with affects what you get back, then consider that maybe the bad stuff that's happening around you may have something to do with how you are treating others.

Ps passive aggressive comments followed by laughter cut just as deep, deeper than honesty.

Mistakes

 You can't forget all the mistakes you've made, because you don't want to forget all the things you've learned from them. 

 As painful as it may be to remember it all, it's part of who you are and you're better because of it all. 

Time for change

 I wasn't me, I wasn't happy

I was drowning, just getting by 

I didn't see this truth until I was told that what I thought didn't matter, that my voice was not to be heard, and that's when the inner me screamed.

I've had a year of insight and growth 

Time to heal and find me again

But now all I see is how lost the rest of your are

Where is your joie de vivre

You inner sunshine

Your grateful to be alive

Now we're all just negative and cold

Slogging through the same mud but not seeing anyone else

It took me a year to see how dark my lenses were

No longer rosey, not even clear, 

Dark, jaded, twisted, tainted.

We do so well, shoving it down, 

Letting the tidal wave that is bad news push us ever forward

But always down, to a dark and scary place

But this doesn't have to be the end, maybe you'll crack too 

And one day you'll say enough is enough

And you'll see the sun again

Grief

 Can you grieve something you never had

Can you grieve an idea

What about a dream

A fantasy

It never happened but knowing it can't

That can break the heart

A dream can shatter

A heart can break

These are figurative things falling apart

But they can hurt like a literal wound

Are we missing the physical body of a loved one we've lost

Or are we grieving the conversation, the feelings, the company

There is no one who can deny the physical effects loss can have

But most of it is inside

Invisible to others but still feels real

How do we treat these things

You can't put a bandaid on a broken heart

You can't stitch a shattered dream

They say the only way to heal is time

Distraction to get by, until memories fade