الوسوم

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Time does not stand still, nor do we. Everything changes. Friends go, others come. Everything has to end. All are well known sayings but are never fully appreciated until you go through the change yourself.
My pets, both dogs and cats, take up a large part of my life. They are my Furry Family, and in the true sense of the word, they are my family. They are my children and my companions. The longer they live, the dearer they become because we share a history. When young they take a great deal of my attention and are at that stage when they need a great deal of love and care. The older they become the more they return that love.
The worst part of having pets that you love so dearly is the part where you lose them. Their life span is much shorter than ours and therefore it is inevitable. For the past couple of years that has been happening a great deal in my Furry Family. I lost three of my big dogs, Rosy, Petunia and finally Tulip (Lippa) in the span of two years. I have also lost Frisky within a month from losing Lippa.
On the other hand I have adopted some new babies. The new family started with Helen and Troy, then within a month Petra joined them. A year after that the second batch is here with Max and Millie. They are all quite a handful, but still such a joy.
What gives me pause for thought though is the fact that life is changing so much. My Mom never saw my Terrible Trio nor my Daring Duo. I feel a sort of split in my life. The previous life I knew with my Mom and all our pets of that time, then the new pets that she never got to see.
It is only now that I understand something that she used to tell me, and which I never fully appreciated then. She used to tell me that her world has changed, no longer is it populated by the people she knew. Yes, now I understand. That split second of loss and disorientation, a strange new world, filled with strange new people, strange new pets. Then a sharp feeling of regret at the loss of that beautiful, familiar world that used to be.
This must be part of the tax we pay for becoming older, and I guess the older we become, the larger the tax. This feeling of alienation despite the familiar surroundings is something that only those who have consistently lost those near to them feel. We resist, we renew, we forge ahead with new experiences, new places, new friends, new pets, still, the loss is there. This new world can never make up for that warm, lovely, secure feeling generated by the previous one. The contrast is flagrant: the old world where you were a young part of this loving entity that kept you safe, and now this new world, more bright and vigorous, where you are its mainstay and the rest are young and dependent on your presence for their warmth and security.
The flag is handed over from one generation to another. The King is dead, long live the King. The world goes no.
3 June 2015