The View from Here

I was enjoying working in my Secret Garden this afternoon when I turned to look back at the driveway. For a moment I expected to see Coops and Sophie sitting together there in the shade as I worked, Kasey flitting through the irises as I pulled weeds. They are all gone now, though, all taken by cancer over the last almost two years. Instead, Marley sat there, looking adoringly at me as I toiled away in the garden. I felt both sadness and gratitude, missing the wonderful animals I’ve been privileged to have and grateful for the amazing ones I have now. Marley…

Kasey…Sophie and Coops..

It may sound silly, but I sometimes see their ghosts in the corner of my eye as I’m out working in the gardens, and I smile. I feel their gentle presence and the love and devotion they brought to our home and our lives for so many years. Each with their own personality and role, each loved and treasured until their last breath.

It is as if the job of loving and protecting their humans is passed along this wonderful chain of animals, each connected to the next. Even crazy Shiva plays her part. I find such comfort thinking of them coming to visit me in the garden where we spent so many peaceful and happy hours together. Their ghosts bring wonderful memories with them, and I feel wrapped in their love once again.