Sometimes the truth hurts...

I miss being frisky, and having energy, and feeling peppy. Inside my head, I'm 22, but the mirror shows the ugly truth. Young people today seem to know and go for what they want, rather than float and play their youth away. Life is a pretty bumpy ride. Hearts get broken, we suffer loss and betrayal. When we're a fresh-faced seventeen year old, we think we can plan our life path with few broken sidewalks. We don't listen to the seasoned ones who have already ventured down life's road and survived. Teendom into twentydom is lah-lah land. Thirtydom is when reality sort of hits. By forty, you're either starting over with new vim and vigor or plodding along wishing life was better and different. Fiftyhood is when freedom comes back, and we locate old friends again, and if lucky find ourselves again as well. Sixty is even more so. I feel less guilt now. The clock is ticking, and with that knowledge, one begins thinking about that bucket list, and actually doing a few things on it. If not now, when? Each decade has its joys and sorrows. Out of them all, my thirties was the least happy time. How about you? Reflect a minute, replay the pages of your life, and give it a grade. When I do this, I feel more grateful. I also shake my head in wonder and say to myself, "what...was I thinking". It's so obvious that God has been in our lives during those ups and downs. The right people have come into our lives just at the right time. We've crossed paths with others, and learned lessons, painful and healthy. We learn that family truly IS everything. Life truly is a journey. It can always begin anew. There's always time to change. There's always hope. The blessings are out there, and have always been part of our days. Isn't that wonderful?

The New Kid...

On Saturday, April 21st, we met up with Monica (better known as Classy Chassy) in Kalamazoo for a meet and greet at a Cracker Barrel with her and her little dog too. Dixie Doodles needed a new home. We needed a new corgi. We lost of beloved Jake one week shy of his twelth birthday the end of March. We had a hole to fill, and Monica needed to find a home for a corgi. Dixie is well trained and was much loved by Monica. It wasn't easy for her to part with her. Sometimes though, L-I-F-E gets in the way and changes have to be made. Because Dixie was much loved, Monica made the tough decision to let her go because she knew that Dixie wasn't getting the life she needed at the time. She offered, and by golly we jumped to get the little girl in Michigan. Now, nearly a month later I'm so glad that we did. Dixie is such a little sweetie. She'll be six on Father's Day, but she seems like a pup. She's bouncy, kooky, silly and extremely lovable. Addie seemed to accept her right away. Addie is stiff and old and grouchy, but seems perkier, and is wrestling again with the new kid inhouse. She needs a buddy, and now that she is with Dixie, I realize just how much she must miss Jake. Thank you Monica for sharing your heart and little princess with us. We'll love her and treat her right. She's filled our house with pep and love again. The little dickens.