” Grief is the Price of Love”

Dear Reader:

Yesterday we lost Khaleesi-the call came at 2:30 a.m. Sunday morning that her oxygen levels were dropping -Tommy and Kaitlyn hurried over but she passed before they arrived.

When we hear phrases like ” Grief is the Price of Love” … from an emotional distance… it sounds sweet and endearing. If you are experiencing it first/hand with a family member, close friend or beloved family member in the form of a pet… the deep sense of loss feels all-consuming as memories pervade every waking moment.

You can’t decide if you want time to slow down or speed up… if time is supposed to be the great healer … then just heal now -this very moment and take the empty feeling away. But we all know deep healing does take time. You wait for that one day when you can share a happy memory again with a smile over tears.

The title picture is a candle lit for Khaleesi in Tommy and Kaitlyn’s home. Tommy asked me to come over and watch the second half of the Clemson game-didn’t get there until almost the end of the third quarter-plenty of nail-biting time left! I said a prayer at the candle before I left.

We were still pretty hopeful Khaleesi was going to make it…as the third day of post-surgery was nearing-which the surgeon had commented was the critical time period.

Khaleesi was the only little girl dog -along with her three brothers…. Kaitlyn was especially close to her!

As I went yesterday to Walgreens to get some hard copies of a recent photo of Khaleesi and photos of Jake’s party… I ended up taking her picture to add to Boo’s Prayer Tree… to place around Poogie and Tigger-already on the tree.

I never intended the prayer tree to turn into a pet memorial that Boo keeps in her backyard-but in retrospect-it is the perfect site for Boo’s grand dogs.

So until tomorrow… Poogie and Tigger – welcome your cousin into her new home now-be her best friends and enjoy your new lives together-far from the pain and suffering in this world. We Love you all!

Today is my favorite day-Winnie the Pooh

About Becky Dingle

I was born a Tarheel but ended up a Sandlapper. My grandparents were cotton farmers in Laurens, South Carolina and it was in my grandmother’s house that my love of storytelling began beside an old Franklin stove. When I graduated from Laurens High School, I attended Erskine College (Due West of what?) and would later get my Masters Degree in Education/Social Studies from Charleston Southern. I am presently an adjunct professor/clinical supervisor at CSU and have also taught at the College of Charleston. For 28 years I taught Social Studies through storytelling. My philosophy matched Rudyard Kipling’s quote: “If history were taught in the form of stories, it would never be forgotten.” Today I still spread this message through workshops and presentations throughout the state. The secret of success in teaching social studies is always in the story. I want to keep learning and being surprised by life…it is the greatest teacher. Like Kermit said, “When you’re green you grow, when you’re ripe you rot.”

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