Boy, oh boy, was that fun!! I just completed doing an audio recording of "Frankie, the Walk ‘N Roll Dog!" So as a special gift, feel free to click on the link I provided to give a listen. We hope you will enjoy!
A recent story from The Associated Press, "Dealing with devastating pet injuries"(http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/24258707/) stirred within me deep emotions of the day I almost made a fatal mistake. My first initial thought when I was told Frankie might be permanently paralyzed is that I would have to put her down. The MSNBC story talks about how historically when an animal becomes severely injured we put that animal to sleep. We believe they can’t possibly overcome adversity. That thought is changing and changing rapidly.
I believe what is most important to remember is when an animal becomes paralyzed or loses a limb they don’t deal with emotions as humans do. They don’t feel sorry for themselves or wonder why this happened to them. They simply adapt, and quite quickly most of the time. As humans, we must let them continue to be dogs and do what they do best. We must also instill in ourselves the value our animal is teaching us, which is to accept what is, and continue on with life.
There is not a day goes by that I wish I had done things differently for Frankie. She taught me to put on my patience hat, roll with the punches and face it all with grace and dignity. Frankie does just that as she climbs aboard her little cart each morning and rolls through the day as if this was the way it always was. Roll on!
I had the great privilege of seeing Dr. Maya Angelo recently. A friend of mine had an extra ticket and asked if I would like to go. I jumped at the chance!
Dr. Angelo’s message really moved me. Her theme was "looking for the rainbows in your clouds." It really made me think about all the people in my life who have been my rainbows. And of course, not only people, but animals as well.
Her story really struck me when she said there was a time when she was quite young when she did not speak for quite some time. She was raped by her mother’s boyfriend and told an adult what had happened. The man served one day in jail, was released and was found kicked to death. Dr. Angelo, at the age of seven believed her voice caused this man’s death. All I could think is that if she had never spoken the rest of her life, the immense and amazing wisdom of Dr. Angelo would have never been shared. But she had many rainbows in her clouds that helped her and thank goodness she did speak again.
We truly all do have rainbows in our clouds. And when the clouds are the darkest, those rainbows are always there. We have to believe with all our heart and have hope those magnificent colors will shine forth. As Frankie and I have visited schools this month the rainbow is quite spectacular for me. As I drive home from a school presentation, Frankie next to me in her doggie car seat, my heart feels full of a love I cannot really describe. All I know is she is my rainbow and always has been, even when the clouds were heavy when she was first hurt from her accident. God’s plan was for me to meet many more rainbows. And those have been all the children we share our story with. Now those are some pretty spectacular rainbows! Who are the rainbows in your clouds?