Goodbye, my Keiss . . .
The long handle blended into the browns and gray hues of the desert. It was only broken by the haphazardness of the mesquite bushes that dotted the expanse beyond my window. My thoughts cried loudly within my head knowing what was below the handle. The broad edge had been thrust into the crust below it, now more than six hours before. The wind was stronger and rearranging the desert floor that had earlier been disturbed, soon to erase any signs anyone had been here.
Nothing could be shared to appease the sadness that was weighing heavily upon me this day. The years seemed to have flown by since the moment a little black whirling blur, with two pointy ears, had been carried through our door. Its excited tumbling and sliding on the wood floors pulling at everyone’s heart within.
The slight nudge of Keiss's head, against my leg, would be the tell-tale sign he had returned from his brief night stroll on this moonless night. He was invisible in the darkness and almost silent, until his nudge. The later years arrived much too soon and the infirmaries of slowing gait, confusion and night battles with unseen squirrels were racing through his dreams. The bright sparkle of his eyes filtering through the hair around his eyes, as he watched me dropping the crumbs of the finished bag of cookies into his dish. Without a doubt, anticipating the moment he could then lick them out. A pleasure he received on occasion for the many times he provided pleasure for our family.
Walking out the door of my Truck Camper, to retrieve the shovel set into the desert by me, I noticed the silver bag containing the cookie crumbs he didn’t get to finish, the day he left us . . . me. I had stood over him seeing the brightness of his eyes, as we looked at each other, as the cloud euphoria cascaded through him. Within my thoughts I held strong as his inability to be able to stand up and walk beside me, these recent weeks. The nights as we struggled to find something he could swallow and eat weighed on me as much as his whines of hunger. I was feeling the weight shifting from his legs to my arms and hands as I began to hold him ever tighter and his head leaned into my arm for the final time.
A pet provides so many pleasures in life. A child provides happiness that is unfathomable. Parents and family provides the guidance and love that sustains all of us. Friends provides the comfort all of us want, without ever asking. The loss of any of this causes sadness that only time will heal. Time, please come quickly.
Goodbye my Keiss, your being here brought such great pleasure and unconditional LOVE.
b
Photo by; Sabconsulting ~ at Mormon Lake May 2014
