Nothing Ever Stays the Same...

We're grieving this week.  Today my husband will take our 13 year old teacup Yorkie to our vet and have her put to sleep.  We'll say our final goodbyes to our old friend.  She was my husband's dog for a year and a half before we got married.  She's been with us through four houses (five counting the one my husband lived in before we got married), one apartment, one church gym, five cities, two states, two kids, two hurricane evacuations, and one actual hurricane.  She had enough adventures in her life to write a book on.  (It would be a really great book too...)  We've also made the decision that for now, it's not the time for us to have another pet.  For me, this will mark the first time in 23 years that I have not had a dog.

Mitsy in her younger, healthier days (summer 2010 - age 11)

Life is all about change.  Children grow, families move, jobs change, people - and pets - come and go.  I'm not good with change.  Even good change brings stress.  A sad change like the one we're going through brings a lot of grief and adjustment. 

I will mourn for Mitsy, the only pet our boys have ever known, but I'm also mourning the end of an era for us - we've been married 11 1/2 years, and the babies that our dog saw us bring home are growing up.  Right now we're marking the end of Mitsy's life.  Soon we'll mark the end of homeschooling, as our boys will (hopefully) begin private school in the fall of 2013, just over a year away.  Then we'll mark their graduations, the boys going to college and moving out...it all goes by too quickly. 

Nothing ever stays the same...so now it's time to mourn, but it's also time to lift my head and embrace the next season that this life brings.  Nothing ever stays the same...but God brings new blessings, new opportunities, and new seasons of life.  If you would, say a prayer for my family this week as we adjust to this new season.