Lewis on the Vulnerability of Love

Love anything and your heart will be wrung and possibly broken. If you want to make sure of keeping it intact you must give it to no one, not even an animal. Wrap it carefully round with hobbies and little luxuries; avoid all entanglements. Lock it up safe in the casket or coffin of your selfishness. But in that casket, safe, dark, motionless, airless, it will change. It will not be broken; it will become unbreakable, impenetrable, irredeemable. To love is to be vulnerable. C.S.Lewis

Six Unimportant Things about Me

Mick has tagged me to list six unimportant things about myself...this is assuming that any facts about me are unimportant :-)

1. I took recorder in elementary, guitar and piano lessons outside school and played violin and cello in jr high. I play none of these instruments today.

2. I didn't get my driver's license until I was in my 30s and my first car was a Chevy Citation.

3. I met Tommy Makem when I was 15 and was so awed I was speechless - this has not happened many times in my life.

4. All our cats when I was a kid were named for characters from the Goon Show and my first dog was named for Spike Milligan.

5. Tommy Douglas patted me on my head when I was five years old.

6. My first movie in the theatre was Mary Poppins and my favourite movie when I was young was Doctor Doolittle.

Anyone who feels like doing this, consider yourself tagged.

Rainbows

After Robbie died I was driving through Bragg Creek and it had just poured. There was an incredible rainbow - a short one but really intense. In that moment I thought of God's promise to never abandon us and felt an intense moment of peace. A friend and the vet's office sent me this little story of how animals go to the rainbow bridge and I thought it was really interesting that people make this connection between animals and rainbows. Then I went to church this morning and one of the kids gave me this picture because Robbie had died. At the announcements one of the women who had walked in the Relay for Life described how an amazing rainbow came out to encourage them at one point.

I am surrounded by rainbows!

Another Sad Day

I had to take Kafka in this morning because he was losing weight and was restless. He hadn't seemed to be in any pain so I thought it might just be old age but the vet found a big nasty tumour under his tongue. It wasn't noticeable three weeks ago but she said it was probably some form of cancer, forget the name, that grows really fast. So we put him down and I cried again. Northside Veterinary Clinic has been absolutely incredible. They have treated us so well. I am so grateful to them.
Kafka, age 15 or 16, came to me 13 years ago. A sweet big suck.

Vancouver

It may be gray in the sky but it sure is green in the ground. Here is the view from my res room while I was at the conference:

Back to reality

I'm back from a week in Vancouver and Vernon during which time the blunt reality of Robbie's absence was somewhat removed from me although I choked everytime I saw someone walking a little dog. Now I'm back and taking my old cat into the vet...maybe to join Robbie...he is not a well boy. This is the problem of having animals all the same age...when they start to go it is one after another, although 10 days apart is a bit much. Maybe the vet will have good news.

It is good to be back. It rained a little here today but it is a good honest rain, it falls and then it is done and the sky is bright again. After a week of mist and rain and gray I was thoroughly sick of BC.

While I was gone a young friend started a new blog. Check it out here!

I've had a day of puppy therapy from a friend's little dog. She's been generous in her kisses so I better go be generous with her dinner!

Just because I miss him