Stories with Sophie

  After Chloe died, I saw her all the time out of the corner of my eye laying on the love seat, staring out the window on "her" corner of the couch in the kennel On walks, I'd smile at things I knew she'd have to stop and investigate. On really tough days, when I often cried while I walked, I'm pretty sure she sent my new friend Henry (a big, beautiful black doodle) to give me hugs. Those first few months were especially hard. Chloe was such an important part of our lives. Gradually, things have gotten better. We still have tears once in a while, but more often we laugh about the silly things she did. We talk about her naturally, share Chloe stories, and ... Well, we knew it was time. And I think Chloe knew it was time. I haven't "seen" her in a while.  And on Sunday, when we picked out Sophie, I'm pretty sure she was smiling down on us.

 We knew when we lost Chloe last fall, that there would be another dog in our lives. As my husband tells everyone, "We're dog people".  And we are. And our home has been really empty.  But in a couple of weeks, it will be full of puppy love. Meet Sophie. Everything just fell into place... She came from our niece's cousin on the other side of her family She was born on my husband's birthday From pictures, this is the pup both of us "secretly" wanted From the moment we stepped into Brian and Karen's house, Sophie (because she definitely is a Sophie), was not afraid. She came right to us, brought us toys to play with, let us hold her, and gave us puppy kisses. It was almost like she was saying, "Pick me! Pick me! I'm the one you want!" She chose us. And we couldn't be happier!

Day 1   Start.  Just start. Put your fingers on the keys. Let the words come. Let them choose themselves.  You know they are there. Waiting for you to release them. Start.  Just start. August August has always been the beginning of a new year for me. Much more than January. When August 1st came around, it seemed like things were shiny and new again. New school clothes, new shoes, new school supplies, and a new calendar. Even now, having been retired for four years, it's the start of a new year.  And today will also be the start of something new in our house. Today we pick out our new puppy. We know her name is Sophie. We just don't know which one it will be. When we chose Jake and Chloe, they each crawled into my lap and cuddled. I guess, really, they chose us. So today when we go looking at puppies, we'll wait and see which little girl chooses us.