Healing Our Broken Hearts
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| Our regal furry Baby |
Our beautiful furry baby Scarlett enriched me and my husbands lives in many ways. Scarlett is our daughter, our furry, four legged daughter and the pain from her passing is unbearable. Just as we feel we are finding solid ground it falls away and we are left sobbing.
The constant questions persist on why she passed - did we not do enough - why's and what if's continue to swirl around and the heaviness this creates in our souls is beyond what words can express.
Having suffered many losses early on in my life prior to Scarlett's passing I felt I had a grip on grieving. Both my parents passed away by the time I was six years old and then I endured the subsequent loss of my guardian/maternal Grandmother when I was 18. Losing this many important people in my life I learned first hand of the void that is created, its a void that can never be filled and to this day I continue to grieve those early losses.
HEALING
I'm sitting down to write this article with tears streaming down my face - it is an attempt to focus on Scarlett's life, what she brought into our lives and how we continue to be forever changed by her.
ALLOWING THE LOVE IN
Scarlett became a part of our family on my birthday in 2006. My husband set it all up as a birthday surprise - I was brought to a breeder and had a couple Cavalier puppies brought to me. Scarlett ran to me - she actually was able to push me down to the ground with her puppy energy and body. At our initial meeting there was another puppy we were looking at as well but Scarlett took care of that by pushing the other puppy out of our way... it was obvious that she was supposed to come home with us.
FIRST STOP
We went to the closest pet store and bought all the essentials to bring home our baby... once home all she wanted to do was to lay on my chest... oh to feel her little puppy heart beat next to mine - our connection was instant.
Scarlett became a daddy's girl instantly as well - my husband just fell in love with her immediately and lavished her with hugs, kisses and treats.
THE FIRST NIGHT
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| Scarlett at 12 weeks |
Me and my husband had made the decision that our puppy should not sleep in bed with us but after an hour of hearing her cry that idea was scratched and she was brought into our bed and from that night forward we three would sleep together. It wasn't long before we wondered how such a small furry baby could take over our King size bed... me and my husband still can't understand how we'd end up sleeping at the edge of the bed as Scarlett snored away comfortably in the middle but we wouldn't change a thing.
LESSONS FROM SCARLETT
Our baby was first and foremost a little diva. Routinely I'd tell people we were not only her parents but her personal assistants as well. For those who had the pleasure of meeting her you know what I mean... she knew how amazing she was and would not accept anything less than the best.
SELF-LOVE
This was one of the life lessons from Scarlett that I knew was specifically intended for me and one that I struggled to incorporate into my life. Plagued by lack of self-esteem that stemmed from childhood trauma I would routinely deem myself unworthy - through the love of my husband and our little baby Scarlett I tried to fill my being-ness with self-worth and self-love.
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| We'd watch the Dog show's together on New Year's day... |
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| I was always left with the sense that she wished she had been on the show circuit. |
Scarlett would sleep the afternoon hours away and think nothing of it. George had a hard time learning this lesson but Scarlett showed her daddy that it was okay to relax and take it easy.
MEANING & PURPOSE
To say that Scarlett filled our lives with meaning and purpose would be an understatement. We walked her three times a day. Some days it was hard to get out of bed for her morning walks (especially if it was raining) or get home to walk her in the afternoons or gather the energy together for her nighttime walks but we always worked it out and inevitably by the time we finished our walk we felt fulfilled... that simple action everyday created a feeling of accomplishment for us.
A LIFETIME OF MEMORIES
Scarlett was factored into all our life decisions... we took her everywhere. Thankfully there are many places from which to choose and we created many memories together.
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| One of our favorite places to go is Cafe Fina in Monterey - they also have a "puppy" menu - Scarlett sat calmly on the chair at the table, much to the surprise of many passerby's. |
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| Here's Scarlett and her Daddy at a wine event in Shell Beach... |
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| Before going out I would always give her a big kiss and tell our little girl we'd be right back... |
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| We always felt satisfied when we could put this look on her face... |
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| At 17 Mile drive in Monterey, CA |
SEVEN YEARS IS NOT ENOUGH
Scarlett was so young when she passed. We are still reeling from our loss and are trying to allow the grief to pass through us, not holding it in - allowing it to flow but healing a broken heart is difficult. Seven years is just not long enough and as me and my husband speak to others who have had similar losses we've come to understand that no matter when they pass it's never long enough.
A blessing we cling to is that just days before she passed we were able to take Scarlett for an amazingly long walk at Venice Beach - we spent the whole afternoon walking and she was able to enjoy her favorite past times of trotting around, being appreciated by strangers, hanging out with her parents and looking out over the Pacific Ocean with the wind in her hair.
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| This is a photo from that day... our forever baby... we love you our Scarlett Mommy and Daddy love you!!!! |
Here's the link=>> https://vimeo.com/73336102
** Please feel free to add any personal stories you have below **
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