What the dog saw

This is the title of a Malcom Gladwell book. It's also a reflection on the past 7 years.

Our Great Dane died about a week ago. He was an elderly dog, but still it hurts pretty badly to lose him. I sat beside him on the bed and watched his heart stop while I stroked his paw. We all feel a little lost at home now.

In the past 7 years he saw our 2 households move in together which includes another great dog. We eventually added 2 cats. One of us changed jobs. We had several cars. My mother experienced cancer twice, and was diagnosed with a chronic illness. We added a foster kid.

In the past month I have seen changes at work and changes at home, and I struggle through it to come up feeling okay. I reminded myself of something I once heard before: never make any major decisions after a traumatic experience. My mind reels with questions about what the next 5 or 10 years will look like for us.