The Rainbow Bridge.
We have these friends, Ron & Cindy.
They live down the street. We get together
often and have some really terrific times.
Many times Ron will say to us, when the
night comes to an end,…”Hey, next time
we get together maybe we can have more fun.”
And we usually do.
These two seem to always surprise us with
the kindest gestures and with the loss of our
boy Hobie, I must say, their thoughtfulness
will be forever cherished right along with their
friendship.
Last night, while on a walk with their boy
Reggy,
they popped by with a framed image and
memorial poem about The Rainbow Bridge.
I clutched it too my chest and began to cry.
I would need more time before I could read it.
Ron & Cindy, your kindness touches us deeply.
Thank you.
Also, I want to thank my newest forever friend,
Heather Lombardo. She is the head of NILMDTS
here in Minnesota. We’ve done a lot together and
she is a very special lady. Thank you for taking
the time to recognize our loss. The flowers look
so alive and gorgeous. I’ve set them next to our
framed memorial.
Lastly, we received a bouquet from Anderson Lakes,
our veterinarian, yesterday as well. Thank you for
your kind words. I know you will miss performing
all the enemas! You are all top notch, we appreciate
everything you do for us and our precious, furry
family members!
The outpouring of concern and love from all over
the world has left me speechless.
Gary and I are both coping and doing well.
My darkest day.
Hobie stopped breathing around 11:30 yesterday.
I asked that they keep him on the vent until
Gary and I could get there to say our goodbyes.
It’s just like everyone says…it’s so peaceful.
We laid our hands on him and the Dr. ran the
injection in to his line and we, together, felt
his last breath. We are devastated. Our hearts
are so very heavy.
Hobie decided to go on his terms. I expected nothing less.
Rather than having to endure the trip over to MVRS
and forcing us make the decision between yet another
major surgery or putting him to sleep~he spared
us the anguish and went on his own. Bless him.
Words cannot express how I am feeling.
I do know that every morning, I will ask God
to allow me to find the pure joy in knowing that
he is in heaven with no pain and eating whatever
he damn well pleases!
I miss his face, I feel is soul. He is happy.
We will never forget him, of course but I will
be struggling to find peace in the weeks to come
As my tears hit the keyboard, I am reminded by
both Boo and Katie (Hobie’s litter-mate sister)
that they would like to have breakfast, NOW.
Life goes on.
Thanks for all your prayers!
I’ll pray for you too ‘cuz I know that Hobie touched
so many other lives outside our own.
I’m photographing triplets today for their
Senior Portraits and the busy work will do me good.
Peace.
Hobie
Gary and I got up at 5 this morning
(normal for him…not me) and discovered
that Hobie, having been at the vet all
day yesterday and on pain meds, was
laying on his side, under my desk, pretty
unresponsive and super shallow breathing.
I called MVRS, the Dr.s come in at 9.
Knowing that Anderson Lakes doesn’t open
until 7, I grabbed an old beach towel and
set him in the front seat of my car
(he never moved or made a sound), and
drove to the emergency vet here in Eden Prairie.
I am so lucky to have such talent so close
to me…these are all spectacular people!
It’s dark, I pull up to a very large, well
lit clinic. I see that I am the only one
there and I walk around, get Hobie out, walk
to the door and hit the buzzer.
I’m then greeted and I begin to sob.
“This is Hobie, and he is very sick.”, I said.
“He has a very thick file at Anderson Lakes and
is a fan favorite at MVRS as well.”
We went into another room..no waiting, and
they had me fill out some simple paperwork.
Not having my cheaters along and having tear-filled
eyes while resting my arm on Hobie, this was
a nasty task.
Right now they are warming him up, giving him
some oxygen and ran an IV for some dextrose
(his sugar was super low and his temp was 10
degrees too low…signs of being septic-a sign
that he may have a perforated bowel).
I’ll know more in a little while.
MVRS Dr.s get in at 9am and I’m certain that
we will be moving him later this morning.
Confessions of a Weekend Warior.
Alright, here goes.
I had a Friday wedding this past week
which, for me, was out of the ordinary.
That left me with Saturday night off. So,
Gary and I decided that we should use the
free room at the Sheraton (494 & 100) that
I won at a NACE event last summer (it was
about to expire) and get in a little fun time.
Checked in around 3. I had NO idea that the
room that awaited us was A.) On the “club level”
and B.) A HUGE suite! I remember telling Gary
as we walked down the the hallway, “wouldn’t it
be so cool if our room was the double door at the
end?” AND IT WAS!!! So unexpected!
I mean, the certificate read, “romantic, whirpool
suite for 2 and breakfast” Sure, whatever, right?
Well, we never actually filled the giant hot tub
in the bedroom, why? I don’t know, just didn’t.
But we did venture out and hit every spot within
walking distanced (you must know that this hotel
is a few miles from our home and we never go
there or to the restaurants/bars that are located
in that area). We decided that if we stopped in
everywhere and had a bump and looked at menus, we’d
surely find a fab dinner location.
We selected La Fougasse at the Sofitel. AMAZING!
Why have we never gone there before?
We will definitely hit that spot again. We sat
outside and had the best dinner.
We asked Ron & Cindy to pop out and see us
so they joined us for a cocktail on the patio.
Later, after Ron & Cindy left, Gary and I
walked over to the Dairy Queen and got Blizzards!
I got the Girl Scout Mint cookie one. My brother
was right, it was pretty darn good!
Say, I don’t want to forget to give a shout out to
Anthony. He’s the Bartender at Chez Collette in the
Sofitel. He took pretty good care of us while we
were out on tour.
Napped a lot yesterday and finished up my images
to present to Danielle for Urban Ventures.
Today, the 5th annual Miracle Open golf event.
Toted as “a mature event for immature adults.”
I’ll be covering it today and then several
high school seniors this week capped off by
the wedding of Kristin & Carlos this Saturday.
Another week, bound to go quickly!
Bud Light Lime
My new favorite light beer!
Boo awaiting his x-ray…
Mr. & Mrs. Winter!
Not a lot of time today but I did spot
this image as I was downloading.
This it the Best Man, Ryne and the Maid
of Honor, Michelle tossing all of the
dollar dance money up in the air.
1 shot, my 50mm 1.4 on my 10D…not bad.
Had a blast, great folks and a fabulous
venue. Thanks to Eddy Enright for coming
along and shooting with me!
I’ll post more images in the next few days.
Fun Anime cake !
Molly's bouquet!
What happened to Thursday?
Beats me!
My mom said to me yesterday, “maybe you should
slow down.” Hmmm…this from a woman who just
got home from a month in the hospital after
2 surgeries and is transitioning from a walker
to a cane. OUCH!
I did feel a little “spinny” yesterday, first
downtown to the Colin Powell Youth Leadership
Center then out to Edina, then back down to
the HUB on 4th & E. Lake St. but rest assured,
I go the job done last night for Urban Ventures!
The kids were awesome! Skateboarding, eating,
texting, goofin’ around, praying…it was all good!
Urban Ventures is doing great work, what a
wonderful ministry! Here’s a few of the kids…
Slept in this morning. All of a sudden it got
dark, then the thunder, then the pouring rain.
I couldn’t resist the opportunity to lay there
with the cats and cuddle. It’s still thundering
and it sounds amazing. I just need it to clear
up at 2 pm for my wedding at Nicollet Island!
Eddy Enright is joining me again today. He shot
with me back at the end of May. Sadly, that seems
like yesterday yet August is just around the corner!
Dear Dean & Lois, “thank you” just doesn’t seem to
say enough. There should be a better way to put into
words our gratitude. Oh, wait…there IS!
GOD BLESS YOU! Congratulations on 25 years together!
We love you more than you know and we thank you for
your generosity. Your gift was such a wonderful
surprise and we are truly grateful for your
incredible thoughtfulness! We love you!
Have a wonderful day everyone!
