The Wisdom of an 11yr. old

As I slowly trod through the grieving process of my loss, I continue to be taken aback at the generosity and almost visceral approach of friends and family.  Last week I received a decidedly pertinent display of
kindness and a heartfelt gesture of endearment from the doctors and staff at Colorado State University who treated Dancer during his radiation treatments there.  It was a simple children's book when a pet dies, called "Dog Heaven".  It was written and beautifully illustrated obviously for a child to garner for them an emotional outlet to understand where their beloved pet goes when it dies.  Each of the staff at written some very touching words of comfort to help me deal with my loss and their fond remembrances of Dancer during his stay at the hospital.

I have been blessed with all kinds of "earth" angels during this passage of gathering my sadness and attempting to reconstruct another focus on enjoyment of what I have, not what I've lost.  Because I've not really "lost" him. He's still "here" with me, not just in the physical form I've been used to.  Enough about physicality and spirit but to focus on the title of this post.  I've been introduced to another "earth angel", well, not actually introduced because he's been here all along.  I just didn't recognize the size of his compassion and understanding.  After all, how often do we even consider the perception and discerning mentality of an 11 yr. old?  I may have been neglectful of this by not recognizing some of the insightful presentations he has already designed on his computer.  And now, during my moments of sadness, his sensitivity has uncovered not just his intelligence but his compassion as well.  Here is an email that he sent me which again reiterates my forever aspiration that despair will subside. 


STRONG PERSON

A strong person knows how to keep their life in order. Even with tears in their eyes, they still manage to say "I'm ok" with a smile. Send this to a strong person. I just did. God is good. Change is coming. God saw your sadness and said hard times are over. If you believe in Him, send this to ten people including me. Watch what happens in thirty minutes! Be honest and send this to anyone who made you smile this year.
It may surprise you how many you get back. Thanks for making me smile.

Live, Laugh, Love





I had the where for all to venture out and do some photographing of which I've been seriously in a mental state of decline as of late.  As I've briefly mentioned the weather in St. Louis as being atmospherically preposterous-most of the time.  It's Spring here, but you wouldn't know it as we received "Christmas" in Spring this past weekend and received about 5" of wet snow.  I traipsed through the wet stuff at our Missouri Botanical Gardens and this shot gave me hope, hope that the real Spring is just around the corner.  In light of the snow, you can still visibly see the blossoms on the Tulip Trees that haven't completely fallen.

By the way, thanks Philip.