Goodbye Gracie...

I was looking forward to attending the National Day On Writing festivities we were hosting yesterday.  I had ideas of writing I wanted to do and was excited about attending a writing marathon to gain some new inspiration.

I didn't get to go.

When I arrived home from work on Wednesday afternoon our little dog, Gracie, was seriously struggling with her life.  She had been sick and was scheduled for some surgery today but she wasn't going to make it that long.  She was in serious pain and she was so weak she couldn't stand up.  Wednesday night we had to take her to the Veterinary Hospital ER and she was immediately placed in their ICU.  She was a sick little girl and was having kidney failure.  After learning of her prognosis, we had to make the hard decision to put her to sleep.  I believe this was the hardest decision I have ever had to make in my life.  I know in my head that it was the right thing to do because she was in so much pain and she was 11 years old.  My heart, though, is a different story...

...it is broken.

Now, we have to move forward.  Moving forward with heavy hearts.  We will have to take joy in the memories we have of her...

Gracie was a sweet, lovable and very patient dog.  She loved to snuggle with me every SINGLE time I sat down in the living room.

She would poke her head out of the closed curtains in the living room window to watch us leave.

When I was working at the computer or cooking in the kitchen, she would sit at my feet and whine because she would want me to go snuggle on the couch with her in the living room.  I would have to tell her to "go lay down...I'll be there in a minute" and she would go into the living room to wait for me. 
  
She was always looking for the warm spot and would lay on the deck in the sun or in the foyer on the floor where the sun was shining through the door.   

Patience...she had a lot of it.  A great memory of her is when Kyler was wrapping her up in blankets all the time and how patient she was with all his attention to her   

She was curious about these little babies that we brought home from the hospital.  With both boys we were afraid she was going to jump into the bassinet with them...she wanted to see who these babies were.  She loved the boys!  

Her friendliness and love for every person who came into our home was one of her best qualities.  She didn't know a stranger and wanted to show her love to everyone.

I have so many great memories of her...many more than I can list here.

We Love You Gracie!

Jackie