fifteen

This old girl turned fifteen last week.  I will always remember the day Andy and I brought her home and gave her a bath in the sink.  She was 5 months old.  She's been through it all with us.  Marriage, house building, babies/toddlers/kids, and of course the hardship of the last year and a half.

All along she has taught us so much.  But it seems now, more than ever, she gives to us the message of presence and joy.  There she is trundling up the stairs every morning on weakened legs nosing the door to go out, as she has done for 15 years.  There she is laying on her bed with one eye cracked open ready to spring at the cat.  There she is watching the girls out the window and wagging her tail.  There she is letting loose her hound dog howl at the laundry basket tipped over in the yard.  There she is laying her head in my lap as tears fall or laughter rolls.  There she is.  Always loving, always so totally interested in whatever is happening at that exact moment. 

Today we took her for a swim across the road at the creek.  She was frisky and wild in the water for about 5 minutes. Then she got a bath and shook water all over us like usual.  When we got home she rolled and rolled in the yard and even chased and ripped up the towel just like old times. 

She is slowing down noticeably these days.  She often sleeps through the arrival of the UPS truck, she needs help getting in the car, and she doesn't hear us call from across the yard anymore.  But her ears still smell like heaven, she loves her morning belly rubs and she's gonna get that cat if it's the last thing she does.

We have loved and loved and loved her and we'll keep on doing it as long as we can.  This old girl never fails to make us smile and laugh and feel better in the hardest times.  We are so lucky to have her in our lives.  We love you Lily Louise.