Adjusting

We're are adjusting to a family without our pup. It's been a weekend of quiet mourning. We have had a crowded few days since our Daisy died, with company, rehearsals, and a big production with the kids' performing arts co-op. We've kept busy. We haven't been in our "regular" life.

But still, there are those moments. When we drop a piece of chicken on the floor or have a bite of leftover hamburger. When Duncan and his friend wrestle. When someone comes to the door. No pup to eat our leftovers or bark a warning.

I complained a lot about our dog. I didn't like cleaning up poop in the mornings. I didn't like the jolt of a sharp bark on an otherwise peaceful afternoon. I didn't like how she was always underfoot. I wouldn't have considered myself a "dog person" on an average day.

But oh my goodness. I never imagined that we would lose our pup in such a way. I thought vaguely about how someday the kids would all be in college and it would be just Randy and me and the dog. How they would come home to their old pup, who would wag her tail maniacally.

Sigh. This is one of those hard things.

But we are slowly getting back on solid footing. We have to. You know what's been nice? The absolute outpouring of condolences from friends and family. Everyone knows. Everyone has been there. And there is great comfort in community, once again.