The past few months have been quite trying for our family. Eric had back surgery to fix an injury he’s been dealing with since we got married. I changed jobs, then went back to my old job. We’ve had to make decisions for the kids that we never thought we’d have to. And to top it off, we’ve been coming to terms with the impending loss of our first family pet.
The story of Diamond is one that most of our close friends and family know. Eric got her for the kids for Christmas one year while I was in Las Vegas. Reaghen was 3 and Barrett was 1. She was never the kids’ dog. She’s always been his. She tolerates everyone else. All of our friends know, you probably won’t get to love on her when you come over, she prefers to watch from a distance. She’s like that with the kids too, except when they are sick. She refuses to eat, drink or use the bathroom if the kids aren’t feeling good and need to stay in bed. This is the only time that she stays close to them. I only have two pictures of my belly when I was pregnant with Bransen, and she is in both of them. I tell everyone that she’s my soul dog. We are always in the same mood it seems like. She’s tested my patience more times than I can count and frankly, is a giant pain in my ass. But we are losing her. She is a prime example of a backyard bred dog. She’s had health problems her whole life, and has made it two years longer than we expected. It doesn’t change the heartbreak.
We have to go through another grieving process. I’ve had a few people tell me that she’s just a dog, and I’ve got to say… those are not my people. She’s more than that. She’s a fierce protector of my family. She’s the one who knows when I need a sandpaper tongue straight to the face. She knows where to be and when. We don’t deserve dogs. Our children have experienced so much loss, and here we are again. Feeling similar emotions to those that we felt just over a year ago. This time though, we know it’s coming. Does that help? I’m not sure, ask me in a few months. It’s bizarre that we can go through the grief process and a short time later try to do it all again. The hardest part of grief is that it changes every single time. We can go through it a dozen times and feel different every time. I’m holding myself together with patience from my husband and unconditional love from my children. This process is hard. I am incredibly blessed to have had the chance to love such a beautiful soul. We are lucky enough to spend the next few days with our girl, showing her as much love as she’ll allow and eating all the puppachinos her tummy can handle. ❤
Stay strong mommas.
Xoxo
Becca
Momma Tribe 