I have been scared to make this post for almost 3 months.
Life has a way of changing whether you are ready for it to change or not. I was home for a weekend back in March and went to visit Nathan Kolodziej up in the Woodlands. I was giving him a hand at his work when I got the call. My labrador had been doing well, but was having a hard time getting up and laying down due to back hip pain. There was nothing particularly wrong with her, just that she has survived 14 years of age. My mom called and let me know that after her vet visit, the vet felt that it was time to put her down, as she was just in pain and would only get worse. I cried. I drove probably 80 or 90 mph down I45 to get home to see her. I spent my last night with my Holly dog. It was not until the next day that I really felt that it was right to put her down. I hated seeing her in pain. I was not going to be the owner to let her suffer because I did not want to see her go. ..... It was the worst day of my life at that point.
I just want to say some things here. She was my best friend. No matter what happened, she would always be there with a hug and lick. Words cannot express what she was and what she meant to me and my family. I am not even going to try. I will simply say that she will be missed for the rest of my life. I still love her.
She may be gone, but I can still spend some time with her. Willow, Sarah's new dog, loved her as the leader of the Rowe dogs that she was. We all miss her.
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School is out for me. I finished in the middle of May with my last full semester of school. I have one online course to complete this summer, then graduate August 7th. I was sad to leave school, but also excited at the same time. To avoid myself going in circles and not coming up with a clear thought, I will simply state two sides. I am excited to be done with school and go on to something I really enjoy. On the other side, I am a little scared of life without school. For 23 years, my life has been school and summer break. When August rolls around, I will realize that I am a grown-up. I don't know how that will feel until I see others in school and have only to go to work. Work is the other side of things. God has always been great to open doors a little ahead of my expectations pertaining to job opportunities. For the first time in my life, I am able to go full speed ahead, but do not have a job lined up. Although there are some possibilities starting to open up, I just do not have that excitement in my stomach. I know when He opens that door I will know and have that peace. But, I just feel anxious.
In the mean time, I have been enjoying life with family and friends. Here are some clips of life the last few months:
I got to spend some time at the lake.
Going to the lake, there is no option to avoid the last lab standing. Baylor has been great to carry on the legacy of Lab and be the joy and comic relief of her family. I love her and hope I get to see her soon.
Three words..... Dave Matthews Band...... yes.
I got on a plane a couple days ago....
Caleb and Whitney were getting married and I had the privilege of being Best Man.
They are an amazing couple and I wish them well.
The first dance.
Other than that, I am excited about Blake's birthday this week. I get to go to an Astros game when he comes to town. I am also very excited because Sarah's birthday is on Friday and we are going to the lake to celebrate. It should be fun.
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You and Me
I was more than a little excited about the new Dave Matthews album Big Whiskey and the GrooGrux King. I ordered the special edition so that I would get the bonus t-shirt and DVD. When the album released, I was really surprised. Not only is it an amazing album, but it also went a different direction than I thought it would. The music is great, but some of the lyrics are awesome. For example.... You and Me is a song he wrote for his wife, but is a love song for the masses. After being at a wedding this weekend, I took a look at the song with different eyes than I would have last week.
"Wanna pack your bags, Something small
Take what you need and we disappear
Without a trace we'll be gone, gone
The moon and the stars can follow the car
and then when we get to the ocean
We gonna take a boat to the end of the world
All the way to the end of the world
Oh, and when the kids are old enough
We're gonna teach them to fly
You and me together, we could do anything, Baby
You and me together yes, yes
You and I, we're not tied to the ground
Not falling but rising like rolling around
Eyes closed above the rooftops
Eyes closed, we're gonna spin through the stars
Our arms wide as the sky
We gonna ride the blue all the way to the end of the world
To the end of the world
Oh, and when the kids are old enough
We're gonna teach them to fly
You and me together, we could do anything, Baby
You and me together yes, yes
We can always look back at what we did
All these memories of you and me baby
But right now it's you and me forever girl
And you know we could do better than anything that we did
You know that you and me, we could do anything
You and me together, we could do anything, Baby
You and me together yeah, yeah
Two of us together, we could do anything, baby
You and me together yeah, yeah
Two of us together yeah, yeah
Two of us together, we could do anything, baby"
I found this song great portraying lives starting together this weekend, and also looking at those who have been together for decades. And in a strange way, it reminds me that someday I will be able to look back much as the songs paints the picture of. For whatever reason, this is my jam song for the week. Random I know, but it is my blog....
That is all that is on my mind for the moment.
