Life is a
bittersweet, achingly beautiful mess, filled with surprises, heartache and
second chances. Depending upon our preference, we thank the grace of God, Fate
or good luck, but no matter how we credit, second chances redeem. It might show up in forgiveness, or
“do-overs,” or it might show up in a scraggly four legged shelter dog.
We named
him Chance, as in “Second Chances.” He
stole our hearts from the first moment our daughters saw his profile on the
shelter’s website and more importantly, he stole this Mama’s heart when he
trotted over to where I sat and placed his tired head in my hand and closed his
eyes in bliss. A few days later, when we
showed up to retrieve him after the customary wait time and neutering, he
wagged his tail in remembrance. Now I
know they say newborns do not smile and it is probably far-fetched to believe
this canine recalled us from four days prior, but we believe he did. For the record, our eldest daughter did smile
her second day of life.
Chance grew
and filled out, becoming another family member.
We often joked about his “person-ness.”
Despite the premise he would be our daughters’ faithful companion, life
intervened, so he and I were often together alone. We fell into our own personal routine. However, no matter how companionable, it was
understood, “Mama did not get licked in the face, nor did Mama allow him on the
couch.”
Last week,
as he and I snuggled, he licked me full on in the face. In his defense, I believe he was thanking
me. I not only allowed him on the couch
earlier that morning, I personally invited him.
He spent the week enjoying friends dropping by and giving him adoration,
which he hungrily accepted. The dog was
an attention hoard and no amount of attention sufficed. He generously reciprocated with unconditional
loyalty and ever-present personality.
All who met him smiled.
In the end, no words do justice to share his
qualities. No words do justice to our
mourning. Chance lay down this past
Sunday evening in pure bliss upon our youngest daughter’s cushy bed. He had dug holes that day after being in pain
earlier that morning. He was not a hole-digger
and his pain alleviated by midday. Blissfully
asleep, he never awoke.
In the tides of life, every season turns,
as the song says. Gratitude is a life
preserver in a sea of grief. I remain
thankful for the past four years that God’s grace blessed our home and our
hearts with a scruffy shelter dog we named Chance