Hiking in Autumn

Recently, a friend of mine posted a picture of her dog while they were hiking. I resisted the urge to say this for fear of sounding negative or even patronizing, but here we go...

Enjoy every single moment you have. If you’re lucky like me, one day your beloved will be grey and wise and hiking will be too much. One day she will no longer be able to jump up on your bed and you’ll slowly get used to the idea of sleeping alone. But during these days something beautiful will happen. Your bond will grow and change like a radiant river carving its way into your heart permanently. You may think you’ve been carved out enough, but your heart cavern will grow deeper than you can imagine with the joy of taking care of a beautiful soul in the autumn of her life. You will feel yourself bow humbly to the creature who has brought you so much joy as she grows closer to her final days on this plane of existence. You will struggle with the thought of letting her go onto her next big adventure, but you must. In her own wisdom, she will know how to take this journey alone. As her body begins to weaken and fade, her soul will shine every more brightly as you feel incredible honor in doing small acts of kindness: Cleaning her, giving her all those pills, picking her up when she falls down. You’ll slowly understand that just as she has been your teacher all along she will deliver a final lesson on how to love the dying. If you’re lucky like me, you’ll get to walk with her toward the light and hold her paw until the very end.