Wake up Call...

For the past few weeks I have been working and doing little else. I have logged more than 100 hours in each of the last few pay periods. It's amazing how oblivious you become to the world at large. Your entire focus narrows to trying to get enough sleep to deal effectively with whatever the following day throws your way.

My birthday and my sixteenth wedding anniversary came and went, as did Mother's day. Just another day with too little sleep.

Then there are events that occur that bring you back to yourself. Make you aware once again that your life is spilling like sand between your fingers without you even realizing it.

Today I have the unhappy duty of taking my lovely, adorable, sweet-tempered, seventeen year old dog to the vet. She hasn't been well for awhile. We knew the time was coming. I don't expect to bring her home.

No matter how you try to prepare yourself for events like this. There truly is no way to really be ready. But it's events like this that wake you up to the fact that there is a lot more to life than work. Even if you work for a noble cause in the non-profit sector you need to remember that there are family, friends and, yes, pets that depend on you. They need your time and attention as well.

I look back and I can't remember a time that our little Ducky dog was not a part our family. She can be seen is in our wedding pictures, our son's baby pictures and was present at every important event that has occurred in our lives. Our son has never know life with out her. She may only be "a dog" in some people's eyes. But for us it may mean the loss of part of our family.

So...today, as I whisper a prayer for my beloved Ducky, I will promise to remember to hug my kid, to say "I love you" to my mom, to call my dad to just ask "how are your doing?", to invite my friends to dinner more often, to pet my cats, to really look at and admire my garden, to listen to the birds in the back yard and to hold on tight to my hubby while I cry.

All things come to an end...the trick is remembering to really appreciate the important things while you have them.