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Charlie (and musings on branches of meaning)

7/16/2018

8 Comments

 


"Charlie" - acrylic on aquabord,
​16" x 20".  SOLD.


This week went to the dogs.  And also went with them, to a heavenly dog park with treat-laden bushes and never ending games of fetch.

Meet Charlie.  He was adopted at an old, old age.  Deaf, blind, incontinent and failing, he recently went to that great dog park in the sky at the truly advanced age of seventeen. 
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This handsome boy's favorite pastime was draping himself over the furniture like a wet noodle.  Charlie was both the color and consistency of pancakes.  Yet he was the lead dog in a house of many, and the other full-sensory dogs followed HIM out of the house each day.  Charlie was a good leader, right until the end.  I am honored to  have been commissioned to paint this sweet boy as a keepsake for his family.
Picture
"Liam" - painting by Brit Tate
My own daughter's rambunctious puppy, Liam, ended his earthly journey this weekend, after a long struggle with uncontrollable epilepsy. He went on his own terms, in her arms.  

​We want to spare our children from this kind of pain and grief, yet we are helpless to do so.  We cannot stand in the face of suffering in their places when life launches ugly bombs.  We can only listen and love.

My daughter's life journey, much like my own, has been filled with mountains to climb.  The universe has great confidence in her strength - and this weekend I saw that strength in action.  #proudmama.
Mark Nepo (oh yes, still stumbling my way through The One Life We're Given) said this: "No one knows how to live or how to die.  We only know how to love and how to lose, and how to pick up branches of meaning along the way."   These were not my own furry sweetlings, yet there are branches of meaning for me in these encounters - a reminder of the fragility of life and love - the need to grab and hold and love and cherish right now. 
8 Comments
Carl Stoveland
7/16/2018 08:11:38 am

Our furry family members are just that and their loss is indeed heartbreaking . Thank you for the lovely post honoring these pups and their human families.

Reply
jen
7/16/2018 08:13:20 am

Indeed, Carl...so hard when they leave us. But so grateful for all the love and giggles they provide while they are here. xoxoxoxox

Reply
ronnie
7/16/2018 08:48:17 am

I still remember, with lots of love, my fur babies.

jen
7/16/2018 09:20:58 am

Ronnie...they touch our hearts forever!

Dotty Seiter link
7/16/2018 10:02:11 am

Thank you for every word and brushstroke of your post.

Yes. And yes. And yes.

And yes all over again.

My own internal picking up of branches today has nothing whatsoever to do with dogs but, no matter, you have handed me a branch or two nonetheless. Yay!

Reply
jen
7/16/2018 10:21:27 am

Dotty! You are most welcome.

That's the thing about branches...they just pop up wherever like a time lapsed seed growth video. I am so happy a couple landed in your lap!

Reply
Carol Edan link
7/16/2018 12:38:24 pm

"the need to grab and hold and love and cherish right now." Oh how true! What a lovely dog and what a great keepsake. This past week my Lilly was lost, I am sure someone took her and then left her far away. She would never have crossed the main highway, never. At least 10-12 Km away in a nearby city, A good soul took her in and had someone read her chip and she is safe at home. " cherish what is NOW"! With Mishmish and Lilly it's been quite the summer!

Reply
jen
7/16/2018 01:13:55 pm

Oh Carol! I am so glad Lilly made it safely home! Thank goodness for kind souls in the world. And for chips! We just never know when our furry loves will leave us, be taken, or whatever! Today is the day for pooch snuggles...

Reply



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Here's the blue wild, where
tiny dreamers ride beasts, speak
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(by poet Mary W. Cox)
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  • Home
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