After 136 Days - Good-Bye to Joy

After 136 days, and for the second time in 16 days, today we said our goodbyes to Joy. Her strength and her smile along with the bright spark that always brought a smile to my face was gone. It was her time.

~Joy on the day we met~

We first met Joy in January, after she'd gotten so ill from eating a 5 pound filet of salmon. I felt like when she came to us, it was a new beginning. I had such dreams for this very brave, resilient, sweet little Golden Retriever who'd been found as a stray in West Virginia. But those dreams that so many of us had for Joy were not meant to be when the diagnosis came that she had lymphoma.

But Joy didn't know she had cancer.  She enjoyed the moments of being outside in the cool grass and the little bit of snow we had this year. She never worried about time, or complained - She and all dogs remind us to not do that. They truly do teach us what it means to have joy, to be alive - without judgement, just pure gratitude and happiness. This was how Joy lived every day she was with us.  Our days with her were truly a gift.  I knew that then, and even more so now.

So, as the day ends without Joy, and as I write this, I'm reminded of how very sad and hard these moments are for me. And as I look through the pictures I have of Joy, I wish I had more. I wish I could do the last 136 days with her all over again....... I wish....

God speed Jo-Jo...Our candle is lit to help you find your way back to the one who created you. And tonight, before I go to bed, I'll stand on the porch, and look out into the darkness and say a silent prayer of thanks for having the chance to know you and love you. 

The color I have chosen as Joy's is yellow.  Today as I was taking Joy to the vet, I noticed the mullein that is blooming in the fields....

It reminded me of the yellow flowers on her collar. Yellow is also the color for freshness, happiness, positivity, energy, remembrance, and joy.   All of those things that Joy was and will be remembered for.