Too Brief a Walk

I received a sympathy card the other day from my amazing coworkers.  It doesn't say much; all it says is "In life, the best walks are always too brief."  It's true, though; my most recent walk in life was a very brief one.  If you like, feel free to go back and check out my earlier post about my dog Harper.  This will give you some background about my dear friend.  I don't care to go on and on, yet again, about what a great companion Harper was.  I've done that already, and I'm not sure I have the time or space to do it again. 

Quickly, then: Harper was a young dog, about 2 years old, and healthy.  However, if you read through my earlier post about Harper (see the link above) you'll see that she was passionate about eating anything she could find lying around the house/ apartment.  I'm certain that, in true Harper fashion, she got into something she shouldn't have-- and as a result, she got very ill, very quickly, and had to be put down.  Hardest decision I've ever had to make, and I'm so thankful for my sister Liz and her husband Gregg, who were both there with me at the vet. 

My friend Andrew recently reminded me that time heals all wounds.  I'm glad to be reminded of that.  Harper was my ever-faithful running companion, so the first run without her leash in hand was a very difficult one.  And it hasn't really gotten much easier... but it's bound to get easier with some more time.  I feel unnatural, almost empty, to be running or walking without her. 

The card from my coworkers is so appropriate-- the best walks in life usually are too brief.  I keep thinking about how short Harper's life was-- after all, I had only adopted her (from the Saginaw County Animal Shelter) a year before she died.  And even then, she was only a year old when I adopted her.  My good friend Kendra told me that, if we can find anything good in this situation, it's the fact that I bestowed upon Harper the gift of life when I adopted her.  Had I not walked into that shelter and adopted her (she had already been in the shelter for 3 months before I took her home), she would likely have been put down a year ago.  If anything, I gave her a year of life-- a wonderful, frustrating, peaceful, chaotic, adventurous, compassionate, fun-filled, loving year of life-- and she gave me the same in return.  Little did I know, when I walked into that shelter a year ago, I needed her and she needed me.  It's hard to argue with the fact that we were each exactly what the other was looking for.  RIP, Harper :) 

Here's to my walk with Harper, and all my future walks in life, no matter how brief they may be-- and to finding something amazing and beautiful, something significant, something necessary, something to love, along each walk.  These walks, the long and the short ones, help us find our way in life.