My Heart Is Broken

[ryorkies]

Joan, I cried through this whole post. It was beautifully written and oh, so true. My Rebel Cat passed away a little over a year ago and I still feel her presence every day and somtimes I even have to ask my dh if he hears her meow, because there are certainly times when it is obvious ( at least to me) that she is still present. I miss her every single day, but I am richer beyond belief for having had her for almost 18 glorious years. What a gift from God .......
Thank you for sharing this with us Joan and hugs from all of us here.

Originally Posted by crystalsmom

Good Morning All, this was sent to me and I wanted to share it.

The Fourth Day

by Martin Scot Kosins
If you ever love an animal, there are three days in your life you will always remember.
The first is a day, blessed with happiness, when you bring home your young new friend.
You may have spent weeks deciding on a breed. You may have asked numerous opinions of many vets, or done long research in finding a breeder. Or, perhaps in a fleeting moment, you may have just chosen that silly looking mutt in a shelter ... simply because something in its eyes reached your heart.
But when you bring that chosen pet home, and watch it explore, and claim its special place in your hall or frontroom - and when you feel it brush against you for the first time - it instills a feeling of pure love you will carry with you through the many years to come.

The second day will occur eight or nine or ten years later.
It will be a day like any other. Routine and unexceptional. But, for a surprising instant, you will look at your longtime friend and see age where you once saw youth.
You will see slow deliberate steps where you once saw energy.
And you will see sleep where you once saw activity.
So you will begin to adjust your friend's diet - and you may add a pill or two to her food.
And you may feel a growing fear deep within yourself, which bodes of a coming emptiness.
And you will feel this uneasy feeling, on and off, until the third day finally arrives.

And on this day - if your friend and God have not decided for you, then you will be faced with making a decision of your own - on behalf of your lifelong friend, and with the guidance of your own deepest Spirit.
But whichever way your friend eventually leaves you - you will feel as alone as a single star in the dark night sky.

If you are wise, you will let the tears flow as freely and as often as they must. And if you are typical, you will find that not many in your circle of family or human friends will be able to understand your grief, or comfort you.
But if you are true to the love of the pet you cherished through the many joyfilled years, you may find that a soul - a bit smaller in size than your own - seems to walk with you, at times, during the lonely days to come.
And at moments when you least expect anything out of the ordinary to happen, you may feel something brush against your leg - very very lightly.
And looking down at the place where your dear, perhaps dearest, friend used to lay - you will remember those three significant days.
The memory will most likely be painful, and leave an ache in your heart -
As time passes the ache will come and go as if it has a life of its own.
You will both reject it and embrace it, and it may confuse you.
If you reject it, it will depress you.
If you embrace it, it will deepen you.
Either way, it will still be an ache.

But there will be, I assure you, a fourth day when - along with the memory of your pet - and piercing through the heaviness in your heart -there will come a realization that belongs only to you.
It will be as unique and strong as our relationship with each animal we have loved, and lost.
This realization takes the form of a Living Love -
Like the heavenly scent of a rose that remains after the petals have wilted, this Love will remain and grow - and be there for us to remember.
It is a Love we have earned.
It is the legacy our pets leave us when they go -
And it is a gift we may keep with us as long as we live.
It is a Love which is ours alone -
And until we ourselves leave, perhaps to join our Beloved Pets -

It is a Love that we will always possess.

[Betty'sMom]

[yorkieusa]

Joan,

I am just seeing your thread and I'm sitting here with tears in my eyes. Your little Crystal was so beautiful. I know I've told you that before. All I can do is send hugs and prayers your way. I know how much it must hurt.

[mscat]

so sorry for your loss... This is my worst fear, that Suzi will do that. We have a deck too, and it scares me so much. These little dogs are so fast, things happen in a split second I am very, very sorry.

[Shanatink]

I am so sorry for your loss

[Belindtch]

I am so very sorry for your loss. You are in our thoughts and prayers.

[tmatherly]

Oh, Joan...I just saw this. You and Crystal are some of my YT favorites. Sounds like she had a wonderful happy day. If there's any way to go, I guess I would choose the same...ice cream and having a ball with friends.
My thoughts and prayers are with you.

[MaxwellHouse]

I am so very sorry for your loss. My heart aches for you.

[winstonw]

Joan, thank you for posting The Fourth Day. It was a beautiful verse and so very true about our beloved babies. I just wanted to stop by to say hello and let you know you have been in my thoughts and prayers.

[crystalsmom]

I want to thank each and everyone of you for your friendship and for loving Crystal. No more sadness, I am going to try my best to think of happy times and all the silly things she did to make me smile. I thought this would be a perfect song to dedicate to her from me.

YouTube - I'll See You In My Dreams

[Lexi Rae]

omg!!! im so sorry, im here at work fighting back the tears... my heart
just fell reading your thread.. im just numb and have chills through out
my body.. im sending you loads of hugs sweetie.. again,im sorry

[Sandysbabies]

My heart breaks everytime I read a thread like this because I know too well the hurt. Just about the time you think you do feel better it hits again. Just let all the grief come out and cry cry cry if thats what it takes. I cryed in stores, resturants and everywhere a thought would hit my mind. I think my husband for awhile was almost scared to take me anywhere. It will take time. It has been a yr. and even just a couple of months ago I woke up one morning and started crying. Little Kayla come up to me and started licking my face. What a blessing this little has been and you will find it again too. They never replace the one you lost but they fill a void and are special too. God bless!!

[cariblonde]

Oh no! Im so sorry I have been gone for a while so Im just now reading this.. I dont even know what to say... You are in my thoughts and prayers.. I wish I could give you the biggest hug right now

[Betty'sMom]

I can't watch the video! I would be crying for hours, I'm sure. I just wanted to say that I am glad you are trying to think of happy times. Hugs.

[stedmansmommy]

Joan, oh my goodness...honey! This is the very FIRST that I am hearing about this....sweetie, I am SO SORRY This is so devastating and all so sudden...I just had NO idea I am so so so sorry sweetie.... My heart really is breaking for you....

I am keeping you in my prayers....R.I.P. Crystal, sweetheart