Love and loss are two sides of the same coin, I believe.
Love brings a richness to our life. It's what gives meaning to the path that we walk, from our arrival on this earthly plane to our eventual departure. It's love that proves to us just how precious this human experience is. Each one of us walks a separate path in this continuum; and it's the intersection of these paths with family, friends, pets, and yes, sometimes, strangers that gives our life meaning.
And while it's love that fills us up, loss needn't leave us empty.
Loss is an inescapable doorway that we must walk through on this journey. And, on the other side... well, we never know what awaits us there - but sure enough, there is always something. Doors open. Doors close. We live life one day at a time, mostly unaware of the where the road leads. Therein lies the beauty and the sorrow.
Farm life has gifted us an immeasurable amount of love over the years. We have also known our share of sorrow. We ask ourselves if the joy is worth the sorrow - and the answer is “Yes!", absolutely and resoundingly.
We walked through that doorway of loss this weekend... saying goodbye to our sweet, tiny, white horse, Ollie.
There are many questions for which we have no answers. Sometimes these things just happen. Decisions can be agonizing - but we do what we feel is in the best interest of our animals - always.
Ollie passed peacefully under a clear starry sky. I couldn't ask for anything more than that. He passed, surrounded by love - after living his somewhat short life to the fullest here on the farm - his home since the age of three weeks. You can ready his story HERE. It was written nine years ago.
On the other side of every doorway lies a new normal -
adjusting to it is a process for us and for the animals.
Thank you for caring. Thank you for your love.
Comments
One time my veterinarian sent me a card after my dog died, which said, "Between hello and goodbye there is love, so much love."
Bless you and Jack.
Ann
Thankful he isn’t suffering . . .
Sweet Ollie . . .
May the rest of the week be more joyful! 🥰
William Harrison
Having lost three treasured equines to colic, one whom I had from the day he was foaled in my paddock, I know the sorrow.
You provide a wonderful, beautiful home for critters of every kind there. They feel your love. Know that we mourn with you for Ollie. Take care.