There are very few things from the past 13 years that are
the same as they were in 2000. But there was always one constant that never
changed, my sweet Abby girl. She stood side by side with me as I lived with my
best friends after college, survived our shenanigans as we survived puppy hood.
She was there through a marriage and its eventual end, and she was always with
me as I picked up the pieces and learned how to stand on my own two feet. She
was there for the heartaches that followed, she was there when my heart learned
that it was capable of love again, she was there when I regained hope. It was
Abby that was there in the passenger seat as I said goodbye to Lexington, our
Hobbit House, and who was with me when we moved to a deluxe apartment in the
sky. My Abby was there when I fell in love for the last time, when we built our
house, when Piper, then Cat came to be ours. This time, it was her that I chose
to be my maid of honor as I said "I do,” and the one I clung to in the
days before I knew I was pregnant. It was my girl who was here to welcome home
my sons, to sit with me in the wee hours of the night, and the one who would
let them pull her tail in curiosity and glee. Through all the ups and downs,
through a million laughs and a million tears, she was as loyal as the first day
she became mine. But today, she left me for the first and only time. Today, she
drifted out of this world just as she lay in my arms. The most difficult choice
I’ve ever made, a bittersweet moment of compassion over pain, for the most
wonderful friend and companion I've ever had.
Long may you run, my sweet Abby girl.
