Some think it may be hard to be around the elderly, but to me it is a reminder to live each day to the fullest, and to appreciate the stories of our lives.

Yesterday Frankie and I visited with a dear German friend, Irmgard.  She is 80 years old.  Two months ago her husband Oscar passed away at the age of 91.  They were married 54 years.  Oscar came to America from Lithuania and Irmgard from Germany.  They befriended 12 other immigrant couples, all German.  Irmgard is the sole survivor of all of them.

In another life I worked with Irmgard at Kohl's Department store.  I say another life because it seems so long ago.I was a mere 18 when I met Irmgard.  I always admired her strong determination and work ethic.  She has a bit of spit fire in her and at the same time, a heart that welcomes you in.

After Irmgard's retirement we have kept in touch every year. I send her a Christmas letter outlining the past years highs and lows.  She does the same for me.  I always enjoy how her heavy German accent comes through in her writing.  Her penmanship would put many of us to shame considering she had to learn to speak and write English when she came here as a young woman.  It is some of the most beautiful writing I have ever seen. 

When I heard Oscar had died I knew I had to visit Irmgard at his visitation. As I approached Irmgard at Oscar's casket she turned and saw me.  "Oh, Barb!  You came.  Thank you so much."  We chatted briefly and she asked if I would come visit her soon, and to please bring Frankie.  I promised her I would.

She and Oscar have always lived simply.  Irmgard loves plants and flowers and her home is filled with some as old as 20 plus years, mid-life plants and, seedling's always germinating that line her kitchen window sill. She makes her cup of coffee by boiling water on the stove. No coffeemaker for her. Her living room furniture is bright gold, but looks as new as the day she bought it, over 30 years ago.  Never a light on in the house except at night and then only a light when absolutely needed.  Decorations on the walls are kept to a minimum and usually only photographs of family, animals and friends.

Irmgard and Oscar have always had a fondness for the dachshund breed, though they never had one of their own.

Scooter, a red dachshund lived next door for over 19 years.  I remember the stories she would tell of Scooter when we worked together.  Scooter belonged to Hilda, another German immigrant, who was one of the friends they had befriended when they came to America.  Oscar and Irmgard would care for Scooter quite often and it was if Scooter was their own.

As I visited with Irmgard she told me how she is still grieving the loss of Scooter.  He died two years ago. She said, "I still can't get over it."  She told me Hilda was 97 years old when she asked Irmgard to go with her to the vet to put Scooter to rest.

"I just could not look, Barb when they put the shot in," she said in her mixed English-German dialect. 

When they brought Scooter's body home Hilda told Oscar and Irmgard she wanted to bury him under the pine tree.  "We won't have that,"  she told Hilda.

"Someday when you are gone someone could come in and dig up the pine tree and then Scootie would be gone.  No, we must bury him next to the house, in the foundation," she said.

So that is what they did.  Irmgard said they buried him right outside the kitchen window, so Hilda could feel close to him when she looked out the window.  Their Pastor came to say a blessing.  My heart just broke listening to the story.  Imagining that day will come for me when I say good-bye to little Frankie.  But also because Hilda was 97 years old and she lived for that dog.  Scooter was everything she had that made it worth getting up each morning.

Four months later Hilda came down with a terrible cold and needed to be taken to the hospital.  She asked Irmgard to drive her.  On the way there she said, "Irmgard I will not be coming home." 

"Don't talk that way, Hilda," Irmgard said.  "It is just a cold, you will be fine."

"No, I have nothing to stay here for," Hilda said.

Hilda died in the hospital four days later.

As I listened to the many stories Irmgard shared with me I couldn't help but think how fast our lives go by.  I couldn't help but think how Scooter impacted Irgmard, Oscar and Hilda's life.  How they all bonded because of Scooter.

I left with a heavy sadness on my heart as I waived good-bye to Irmgard.  I was reminded again that I have a choice as to how I want to live my life.  Even though it was bitterly sad to see Irmgard in pain from the loss of Scooter, than Hilda, and now Oscar, she was still standing tall.  My heart started to lighten as I got closer to home.

I was thankful for the friendship I had formed with Irmgard over 20 years ago and that we still keep in touch.  I was thankful I could spend some time with her and give her a chance to pet and love Frankie. I was thankful for my little cottage in the village.  I was thankful for my husband, John.  I was thankful for my lab, Kylie.  Thankful for the bond I share with my mom and many friends.  Thankful for the life I have because of the love I have for animals.  Thankful for Frankie, because she is my connection to the elderly in such a special way, and I will be forever grateful.

A little break from dogs and animals… well, okay sort of.

I visited my friend Katie a few weeks ago.  She has a golden retriever named Rosie and a wiener dog named Clarence.  See, I couldn’t leave dogs out of the blog post.  🙂

Anyways, Katie is a dear soul.  I just adore her.  She plays the most beautiful piano music.  And what is really amazing is she is self-taught.  Check out her music here!

So, Frankie and I visited with her and her dogs and she made us a scrumptious lunch.  On her piano she had the most fun, beautiful, funky tree of sorts.  She said it was her Christmas tree but she hadn’t taken it down yet.  She didn’t need to though, cause it fit the ambiance of who she is so well.  I loved it so much I had to create a “Katie” tree of my own.

Katie and I met because of our love of dogs and writing… so see, this post fits for my blog! Now that I talked about her music I must take a moment to pop in a CD of Katie’s. It is truly beautiful.

I have committed to building a better blog with the help of a 4-week class I signed up for.  It is called the Blog Triage with Cynthia Morris and Alyson Stanfield.  I have taken classes with Cynthia in the past and love her authentic, grounding, from the heart, teaching.  I'm excited to learn from Alyson for the first time.

With most classes there is always homework!  But I'm happy to say I love homework and am always wanting to learn new things.

Our first assignment consists of two parts:  One is to describe the people I wish to visit and read my blog, and second is to describe what kind of change I want personally for myself through my blog.

First and foremost important are you, my readers, and future readers.  Who are they?  My readers are animal lovers who appreciate and see the beauty in what our beloved critters can teach us about life.  They are people who value the human-animal bond connection.  They are people who have loved and lost dear furry friends, and have become better human beings because of that love.  They are people who live from their hearts.  They are people who will help others, animal or human.  They are people on a spiritual journey living in the abundance of nature, simple moments and fewer material things.  They are people who strive to live in the moment taking their queue from their beloved pets.  They are people who love animals so deeply they find it hard, like me, to adequately express the intense joy of love.

As for me, what do I want to gain personally for myself through this blog?  I want to connect with others I consider to be my "tribe."  People I described above.  People who truly "get this" thing called life.  That inspires me to keep writing, to keep giving back, to keep being a better human being.  I want to educate others on the possibilities of disabled animals and how they can benefit not only children, but adults, the elderly, sick and dying patients.  I want to know that my sharing of stories, resources, ideas helped another person find hope no matter what their situation.  Mostly I want to leave the world a better place because I shared my love of animals, and what I feel they teach us if we open our minds and hearts to the valuable lessons we can learn from them. 

I welcome your comments.  Stories you want to see more of?  Ideas you have?  Resources that may be of value?  Let me know.  I'm open to hearing from each and every one of you, my wonderful readers!