Instagram of the Week :: Enjoying the Moments

One of this weeks Momism of the Day really hit home with me. “We do not remember days; we remember moments,” by Cesare Pavese (1908-1950); who was a Poet and a Novelist.  Life is so much about enjoying the moments that make up your life.  It is so true isn’t it?  That when we think back to our own childhood, we remember moments or snippets of time and hopefully most of them are good memories.  Lately, I have been thinking about what types of moments do I want my daughter to remember once she is grown. Though I can’t control what she does look back on with fondness when she’s older,  at the present, I can do my best to offer positive experiences for her in the here and now.

That is why I decided to get a new puppy for our family so quickly after having to put our sweet German Shepherd mix to sleep after we found out he had liver failure and a stomach tumor.  Coming to that decision is absolutely is one of the hardest things about having pets, but I know we offered him a humane way to not be in any more pain.  The day after we lost our Duke, I was looking at his picture online from the rescue organization we got him from three years ago and came across some puppies who looked just like him and our previous dog, Bear.  I really believe that our Duke sent us to this puppy as the process to adopt him was so painless and just felt right.  The German Shepherd Rescue Group of Orange County is really doing good work and helping German Shepherds and mixes find good homes.  You can just tell how much their volunteers care about the dogs and they do their best to match up the right dog with people interested in adopting one of their rescues.

I was (am) so very sad about losing our sweet Duke that I knew I could potentially spend the precious few weeks I have left with my six year old this summer before she heads into first grade and long school days, upset and depressed.  That is not really an option is it when you have children!  I didn’t want to spend these weeks with her upset and sad.  Instead, I figured I could work through the grief of losing our furry family member while staying busy training a new puppy.  She was so excited when we told her it was to be her dog and that she would need to help out with him.  They immediately bonded and play together in the kiddie pool we got for him as he loves the water.

I think that there are times in life we come to a crossroads of sorts: we can make  decisions to either drown in the sorrow or look for ways to uplift and inspire you out of the sadness. Obviously some life-changing events will throw you for a loop more than others, but the important thing for me in making this decision, was that  I chose to use this time to enjoy with her and our new puppy, Max, and to create happy and memorable moments.  Sometimes we forget that we can make a choice in how we handle the upsets that will come our way while living a full life. I am happy to say that our summer bucket list just got bigger:  Enjoy your new puppy!  I sure hope these memories will be held fondly when she looks back on the summer she got her new furry friend, Max.

To learn more about The German Shepherd Rescue Group of Orange County and the great work they are doing: https://www.gsroc.org/2013/index.gsr