06/02/2025
🌿 Grief Has Changed Me… Because I Loved a Dog
Grief changed me.
Not all at once…
Not in a way you could see from the outside.
It was a quiet shift—
a slow, aching rearrangement of my heart,
unfolding in the quiet moments when I realized they weren’t there anymore.
I don’t laugh as easily as I used to.
I hesitate when making plans, because I’ve learned that life doesn’t always go the way we hope.
And sometimes—without even thinking—I still reach for the leash,
expecting to hear the jingle of a collar, the familiar thump of a wagging tail.
But the leash stays quiet now.
And that silence?
It feels different. Heavier. A quiet that hums with love, but also with absence.
Yet, somehow… they’re still with me.
I see them in the way I love—deeper, more fiercely.
In the way I pause to notice the little things:
the warmth of the sun on my face,
the softness of the grass beneath my feet,
the way the wind feels when it brushes against my skin—
because they taught me to slow down, to feel, to appreciate.
They’re there in my favorite songs,
in the worn-out blanket they loved to curl up in,
in the way I sometimes catch myself tilting my head—
just like they used to.
Grief didn’t just break my heart.
It changed it.
It made me see how fragile life is,
and how sacred every heartbeat, every moment, truly is.
This isn’t the life I planned.
It’s not the one I imagined—full of walks in the park, sunny afternoons chasing tennis balls, and quiet evenings with a head resting in my lap.
But it’s the life I’m learning to live.
With one hand still reaching for what I lost—
the memories, the love, the moments we’ll never get back…
And the other hand holding tight to what remains:
the love they gave me, the lessons they taught me,
the silent promise that I will carry them with me, always.
This is what healing looks like.
Not forgetting… but remembering with love.
Not moving on… but moving forward, holding them close in my heart, forever a part of me.
💔 If you’ve felt this too…
You’re not alone.
Say their name. Share their story. Let’s honor them together.
