Focusing on the Good

I was thinking last night about all the pets I have lost over the past 18 years. The number is startling to me. To bring it into perspective, when I moved here, there were 5 cats and 2 dogs. Of those original 7 animals, only 1 cat remains. Added to that one cat, is Maddie, who joined the family almost 4 years ago, and Zip, who came last year. Before moving here, I had gone through the loss of three others. That makes 9 animals...or 36 furry paws I have loved and lost. Wow.

Jordan is definitely being missed, though the kids and I were happy to realize that we were *not* missing his ummmmm.....gassy explosion smells. Who knew that it was all coming from him?!?! I feel bad for blaming Maddie, too. :) So - of all the things we are missing, we were able to happily focus on the one thing we are definitely NOT missing. :)

I absolutely want to get the carpets cleaned now that he is gone. Last time I had them cleaned, they stayed that way for exactly 23 hours. I have a feeling they will stay clean much longer now. Again, one more good thing to focus on.

And guess what? There is more room on the couch now. The three of us, and Maddie, can fit across the regular sized couch where before, it was a good day if we could fit two people and Jordan on it. I guess there is no need to research sectional sofas los angeles style now.

Hey - I'm trying to find all the positives I can. Losing Jordan has been painful.

OH! And I actually slept clear through to my alarm clock this morning! Do you know that I have only slept to my alarm once in the past 6 months?!?! AND......I was only up twice last night. Once for my own reason and once to let Maddie into my room. PARTY!!!

Not worthy of celebration, you say? I say you haven't lived my life in the past couple of years. Sleeping in large blocks of time has been unheard of for me. I have great hope as to what sleeping will do for me. I keep hearing stories of how sleep is good...and important. I will haev to let you know how my research pans out. :)

So here's to the good parts. And here is to hoping the kids, Maddie, and I adjust to the big empty hole we have in our lives and in our hearts.