I don’t consider myself very good at grieving. For one thing I tend to live in my head far more than my heart or body.  For another I am constantly future-oriented.  I wake up in the morning thinking of what is to come and where I go from here.  That way of being is very unlike my dog Kloe.  She was a master at staying present in the moment.  She never seemed to look forward or backward—just focused on what was right before her.  Perhaps that is one of her final lessons for me.  Just take one day at a time.  Feel what you feel.  Don’t push away your emotions, but don’t let anyone else tell you how to handle them either. And be happy and content when surrounded by those you love.

As I think most of us know, grief is a normal human response to loss and it will last as long (or as short) as it needs to last.  As for Kloe, she never denied when irritated or upset—and was often pretty vocal about it—but she seemed to know how to immediately forgive and forget, and then be happy and content shortly thereafter.  While my heart felt broken by her sudden passing less than a week ago, I want to learn these last lessons from her to the best of my ability. [Read more…]