Letting go

She paces from room to room, head low, eyes vacant, tail at half mast. In a smooth rhythm, her steps seem purposeful but she never reaches her destination.

She paces.

I stretch out my hand to touch the white spot between her ears. Startled, she jumps back, afraid. She no longer recognizes me and avoids even the gentlest of gestures.

Sadly, these days, all is not gentle. There are struggles to get into the car and into the house. There are struggles at the vet.

Anipryl does not work for her.

Letting go is always difficult.

In fall, the leaves turn and the weather cools. The days grow short. After the winter solstice, it snows. We know that it snows in winter, yet the day it arrives, we are startled by the silence and the cold.

In the garden, there is always spring at the end of winter. That is a special blessing reserved for plants.