We all go through those times in life when it seems like our lives are out of control, like a train that has gone off the rails. During those times it seems it’s all we can do to get through the day and do the very basics (eat, shower, sleep). We don’t really understand what is going on. Our lives are in turmoil, but around us, life goes on. Even in the midst of our suffering, others are experiencing joy.
Back on July 23, delayed by three months due to the COVID-19 pandemic, my Dad had a needed mitral-clip heart procedure to fix a badly leaking mitral valve, at one of the top heart hospitals in the country. Although the valve team was not able to completely repair the leak, they installed two clips and estimated that they had improved the situation 40-50%. He left the hospital in good health on July 26, and we had high hopes for a better quality of life for him and more years to enjoy him. But for reasons we won’t know until heaven, he never experienced any benefits from the procedure, quickly declined and died on September 3.
Shortly after Dad’s funeral, we got the news that we were going to be blessed with a new puppy, a puppy we had been working with several breeders to get since the beginning of the year. Our feelings were mixed. We were happy to bring Clara, a beautiful Alaskan Malamute pup into our home, but we were grieving the sudden loss of Dad and run down physically and exhausted emotionally. It had been more than fifteen years since our last puppy, and we had forgotten how much work a new puppy was, and we struggled with the basics of taking care of her after we picked her up September 16. Continue reading →