On Mortality

Just a short post today because I took a holiday from writing yesterday to attend the funeral for a good friend's dad. His dad was a year or so younger than I am, and had been very ill for some time.

I have been receiving notices about the deaths of many of my former colleagues, all a little older than I am but not that much older, and my friend on the lake has been having a particularly bad time since the radiation treatments ... crippling headaches ...

I am reminded that life ends; that mine will too, and likely sooner than I want it to.

To be honest, I think more often of my dog's mortality than I do of my own. It seems that every time I go to the vet's there is some old dog with a sad owner waiting for the vet to perform that last service. I have wept more than a few tears for Kenya at these times.

Of course she is only just turned three and healthy, but she has greyed around the muzzle, likely because her first year or so was not healthy. Large dogs typically have fairly short life spans (10- 12 years), so she might not make it to the age of ten ... seven years from now.

It is hard to lose a companion, especially if it is someone you love, and more so if they have been dependent on you and you alone. If it is a parent, it hurts more. Let yourself grieve, my friend.