My weekly weigh-in revealed a 7 ounce loss. Though I should be celebrating a “deficit” week, seven ounces isn’t all I lost this week.
Unexpectedly, there was a 44 pound loss too. My first baby. (On the left, that’s our baby girl, Juliet, who we’ve been missing two years now – on the right, Romeo.)
Empty, that’s how both his bed and I feel.
This past Saturday, Romeo, was put down. He was 14 years old and began having more frequent mini-stroke/seizures. The vet opined it was no longer safe to keep Romeo unsupervised around the boys. I awoke the morning after, with balled up tissues in the very same spot he woke the previous morning, on the floor, right next to my side of the bed.
I miss him so much. I miss dog fur being everywhere. I miss looking out so to not trip over him. Heck, I miss tripping over him. I miss when I said hello to him, he’d remain in his balled up circle of fur, gently lifting his head and wagging his tail saying, “I love you too Mommy, I’m just too arthritic to get up and lick you.”
I was stationed in Georgia when I adopted Romeo from the Animal Shelter. He was in run number seven, so initially, his name was Seven. The night I brought him home, my three female house mates and I sat in a circle, welcoming Seven to the family. One by one, he ran blissfully to each, showering us with endless sloppy kisses. We agreed, his name had to be Romeo for he was a love bug.
The nugget God revealed this week is what unconditional love looks like. Romeo logged infinite miles and tears with me. And from his faithful love, God revealed two life examples of what unconditional love looks like:
1. When your loved one’s sad, don’t offer advice. Just wedge your butt up next to them and listen.
2. When life seems overwhelming. Find a sunspot and collapse. Life is always better after a nap.
Sunday my family walked/biked/scootered to a local dinner out. We passed a ga-zillion dog walking families and I grieved the void in our own.
On the way home, we veered into Giant to pick up a couple of odd ends. By odd ends I mean, Milk Duds. For me. Now don’t go get the intervention crew, Milk Duds are on my eating plan. Yes. Three, three hundred calorie treats are on my plan. Sunday restarts the clock on my three count, so what better day to restart the clicking clock than the first day? I thought so too.
So, Dave took the boys to helmet up as I checked out. As I scanned my duds through the self-check out, the dude in the lane next to me is literally chugging fluid from a brown, long-necked glass bottle so he can cap it, then scan the bottle. I’m guess I’m doing okay…well, compared to this guy. He’s a train wreck. I can at least wait until I pay until I drop a dud in my choppers.
SO not gonna work buddy, the conveyor belt’s smarter than us. It somehow, magically, knows the weight of your already-consumed beverage. You’re gonna cause the shopper assistance light to start blinking…see, it’s blinking.
“It’s the weight of the bottle that’s not jiving”, no sooner spoken, now my light’s blinking because the Little Critter coloring book isn’t scanning. Why do I even bother with the self check out lane anyway…
I’m compelled to Mr. Thirsty…cause Mrs. Sweet is ready to get her “chew on”. So here I am with my duds, there that dude is with what I assume to be his (now empty) beer bottle.
Wow, this dude’s doing much worse than me…should I take this time to talk to him about the love of Jesus so he doesn’t have to go sniff out another bottle to chug?
The Shopping Assistant comes, it’s a beer alright, root beer. Maybe he wasn’t in as much of a crisis as I thought. Either way, now I couldn’t stop laughing. I had to turn around. I kept laughing. Grief makes me freaky, to say the least. Bawling to laughing – a nut job.
God showered me with unconditional love through a furry, four-legged, faithful friend, my boy Romeo. And I’m so grateful God gave him to me, to teach me what unconditional love looks like. God is always eager to listen…and so was Romeo.
I love you, God— you make me strong.
God is bedrock under my feet,
the castle in which I live,
my rescuing knight. Psalm 18:1-2 (Message)
Do you see His unconditional love for you? It may not be a huge sea that parts down the middle for you to cross over to the other side. It may be the hug of friend, a smile from a stranger, a song that seemed played just for you, or a butt wedged up next to you. He’s loving you…are you seeing it?
