Dear Elizabeth, I am so sorry that you carry so much pain inside. I think I know how bad it is...only because the death of both parents still causes much pain. We ache for them and the "hole" that they leave. Lucky you to be so close to your brother. I will never know the closeness of a sibling as he and I were the only 2 children. He was my parent's biological child and they adopted me from birth. Sometimes I think he didn't like me...and he was the only family member to ever treat me differently or said anything about me not "really" being family. This was especially obvious when my dad died and made me the executor of the estate (younger child...and in my brother's opinion "not blood"), so maybe that's why he cut me out of his life. I could try to guess for years, but am trying to close the book on a chapter that was particularly painful. I beat myself up for years, and now that he's gone, I have to let the pain and the "shoulda, coulda, woulds" go. I don't claim this to be a universal approach, but I can get on with my life not worrying about him and I am glad that he's not in need of anything. He wouldn't take any help I offered unless it involved a "dead president" (I heard someone refer to money as that and thought it was clever). So...the weight is off my shoulders. I am still sad and will be everytime I think of him...but I can't let it drag me down. MY HIPPIS NEED ME to be happy!! THE DATE was nice (ok, it's 9PM and I'm home....) this was dinner with Ed. I met him on a cruise in 1997 (they thought we were a married couple!!) and we have dinner every year. He lives in IL and I usually catch up with him on the way to a dog show. He happened to drive his new car down towards Houston and invited me to a very nice Italian resturant. New car??? His old Miata was just fine by me...fun and zippy (I used to have a convertible too), but the new car is fun and zippier. A new Porche boxter! Boys and their toys. Tomorrow is another "date" of sorts. Going to a wine tasting and meeting a friend (Alan) there. Asked him what I should bring and he recommended cheesecake, so I made a Chocolate Kaluha chocolate chip cheesecake with ganauche(?) on top! :-) see what these guys are missing?? Handy in the yard AND kitchen?? Kristi

I had forgotten all about this thread ! WOW lynn that sounds like my DH and I together now almost 38 years. Red what a great story ! You had me racing ahead to confirm what I was sure he was going to say ! Love it. Now Lee...I can't believe you let her go or she you. I was not ready fo that ending AT ALL. Happily single...I am glad for you but I wonder....c

I just found this thread again. Reminded of the pain of losing our sweet Libby, we found ourselves having to say goodbye to another beloved pet just last week. Our precious Boo Boo Kitty made her way to Rainbow Bridge following a year of unexplained weight loss and finally a rare cancer diagnosis 6 months ago. She was a rescue kitty we welcomed to our home in the Fall of 1993. We don't know exactly how old she was when we got her but at least 6 months at the time. She must have been getting close to 17 years old when she passed. We love all our pets and they are each unique in personality and demeanor, but Boo was such a bright, intuitive, affectionate and totally mischievous little soul that there will never be another like her. Always demanding the center of attention, but in such an adorable fashion that no one could deny her. She was the best companion of my husband, who historically was never a pet lover. Yet his heart was won over within the first moments of her arrival to our home, when Boo immediately crawled onto his big chest, wrapped her paws around his neck and began purring her acceptance of her new family. From that moment they were inseparable and shared a lifelong bond of love and affection, mixed with mutual joy as they practiced the art of "play battle". Boo hiding and pouncing on my husband from all possible angles of attack until he would pin her in his arms, smothering her with hugs. As her battle with cancer caused her body to thin, tire more easily and struggle to control normal functions, she still remained our loving, affectionate, ever present companion who continued to insist on being the focus of our attention. She spent long evenings cuddled in our laps, telling us it was ok to just sit and enjoy our time together, the chores and schedules could wait...our time together was limited and thus more precious. We are so grateful to have had the honor and blessing of sharing our lives with our beautiful Boo. The pain of parting is so sharp and intense, we continue to see her in our minds eye around every corner, in her favorite sunny spots and waking us in the mornings with her soft paws upon our cheeks. As much as it hurts now, the years of shared love and memories make it all worthwhile. Someday we will cross that Rainbow Bridge, warmly greeted and surrounded by our precious companions who wait for us there now. Some pics of our little Boo Boo Kitty: Her gorgeous eyes Precious Boo Sleeping Boo Curious Boo Lazy Boo Her Highness Boo

boxerpups - I am so sorry for your loss. Pets are family and provide so much love and affection that is unspoken and unconditional. We lost our beloved lab of nearly 10 years this April just shy of his 10th birthday. He developed a splenic tumor and was very sick. We opted to operate b/c the other choice was to put him down or let the tumor eventually explode (which it was close to at the time). We knew the chances of it being a cancerous tumor were very high but we wanted to give him every chance he could at life and there was a small chance it was non cancerous which gave us hope. We operated and he had a rough time recovering b/c of the size of the tumor and b/c his heart had been so stressed due to the tumor. We checked him out of the hospital against medical advice after nearly a week in the vet hospital b/c he wasn't eating on his own or really perking up if we weren't there. We brought him home and he was never happier to be home, went out in the yard, went upstairs (even though he wasn't supposed to - he always slept upstairs next to my side of the bed), snuggled with all of us and ATE! We thought he was going to be okay, drs were amazed he responded so well to being home. Well he passed away the next morning. :( Sometimes pets need the extra time with their owners as much has we need the extra time with them. Our dog NEEDED to come home and one extra night with us, check out the yard, go all over the house and make sure all of us were okay too. Turns out his tumor was not cancerous after all. We are glad we operated and glad we got one more night. So just because YOU needed the time, don't think your beloved pet didn't need the extra time too to say goodbye and spend with you and your family.