Goodbye, Zoe

I was with her when she passed on peacefully. I held her and told her what a good girl she had been and how I hoped I took good care of her while she was mine.

Here are the things I want to remember about her:

Picking her out of the litter. I thought I was going to get her brother, but picked her at the last minute.

Driving back from her birthplace in Odin, IN and she layed down and fell asleep every time I set her down.

Going for a week without a name. I finally named her after Cybil Shepherd's daughter on her TV show.

Her loooong tongue when she was just a pup.

Catching her pulling a roll of toilet paper all the way down the hall.

Watching her play in the sprinkler.

How she loved to be outside and hunt for chipmunks outside my window.

When the little kids next door would cal her "Toto."

How she would try to protect me from anybody who came to the door until she knew I accepted them (and how I almost turned her loose one time!)

The anxiety of leaving for North Carolina, knowing that someone would be coming to pick her up and put her in a crate on a plane, and the elation of picking her up in our new home.

Knowing that she slept on the back of the sofa and looked out the window at the golf course (and squirrels) all day while I was at work.

The hilarious red blinking collar she wore on our night walks.

Talking (yes, talking) to her on the phone while I was living in Florida for 6 months.

Joking with Dad about winding up her little nubbin and sending her into space (a la Astro from "The Jetsons."

The summer evenings when Dad would water all the plants and she would run after the hose and try to bite the water - getting totally sopping wet.

Immediately pooping in the basement for some reason when we moved into our new house.

When she climbed up on the kitchen table and ate a whole plate of fresh brownies, and a few days later, got sweet corn out of a paper grocery bag, shucked it, and ate the kernels.

How she "smiled" when she was cranky.

What an intense beggar!

How she couldn't stand to let her papaw out of her sight and how they napped together on the blue recliner at morning and night.

The look in her eyes when she told me she was ready to leave this world.

How it was so much harder to let her go than I thought it would be.

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Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me. In my Father's house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. - John 14:1-3

I believe my room will have all the things from my life that made me wonderfully happy. I'll see you soon, my little Zoe. Thank you for loving us. I love you.