Teach Us How to Say Goodbye

We’ve received some horrible news during our time here in Washington D.C.: our precious 16-year-old Bonnie Blue beagle went to Heaven. She was our first child: JB & I got her at 5 weeks old, 2 months after our wedding in 2002. She taught us how to be parents for the first time, and she helped raise our children – literally teaching Will how to crawl by barking him forward & her scooting back each time he inched closer to keep him going. She had the softest fur of any dog who has ever lived. EVER. She had the most amazing quality of life, fully mobile & puppy-active over 15 1/2 years, up until this February. She had a stroke Super Bowl weekend; but even that she powered back from, learning how to get around & be mobile, again, on her own. I’m so thankful to her for giving us a few extra months, teaching us patience & grace in caring for a suddenly-elderly family member. JB was with her. ❤️ As devastating as it is not to be home, I don’t think it would’ve happened had the kids & I been there, too. She (& we) would’ve held on too long... We are trying very hard to detach a bit now & just focus on our trip, b/c we know dwelling on this won’t do a bit of good – it won’t honor her or bring her back. We know we have to be sooo happy for her, that she is fully restored after the last 5 declining months. So until we get home next Saturday & a new wave of reality hits, we’re going to try to honor her by enjoying life with friends & family on this trip. We covet your prayers of comfort, and hopefully we can avoid seeing as many other reminders as possible...