I was just wondering today if I would have traded the pain with the 17 years of memories.

i.e. no memories – no pain????????

this life is full of pain and loss and saying goodbye, we have to travel this life with joy and sorrow, you see, sorrow takes us to the heart of God, and joy enables us to keep going, but joy has a quiet voice and can easily be drowned out, sometimes we have to listen harder for her. at this stage in my grief i am searching for joy's voice i know she is still there. pamela

I am so broken up over Chili Bean I can not find the words I need to reply to people to give much comfort. But I agree with everything Pamela said. I think every minute of the pain we feel is worth all the love that we have received. I would not give that love up for anything not even the horrific pain we feel when they leave us.
Ann

Hi Sue:

This is an easy one for me......

I "bought" my sweet Ernestine at a pet store in Boston for $10.00, and that was for the cost of her shots.....
WAY BACK IN June, 1984. (she was born in April, 1984).

We went through ABSOLUTELY EVERYTHING together......... or, I guess I should say..... My sweet girl was
ALWAYS, ALWAYS, ALWAYS THERE WHEN I NEEDED HER... (Love is a two way street -- Of course, I was always there whenever my sweet "Ernie-Bird" needed me)..

Ben "joined us" in March, 2001 --- Ernestine and He quickly became very close -- Ben will always be her daddy!

Our sweet girl was put to sleep on February 7, 2004 at noon-time.

One of my very favorite quotes from a very caring and wise person at LS said to me.....

"DENISE, YOU TOOK ON ERNESTINE'S PAIN SO THAT SHE COULD BE WITHOUT PAIN.......

Inasmuch as losing Ernie caused such heartache and pain, and ALL THAT GOES ALONG WITH LOSING SOMEONE THAT
YOU LOVE WITH EVERY SINGLE FIBER OF YOUR BEING...........

I would ABSOLUTELY, 100% do it again, to relieve her of her pain.

And, the 19 years and 10 months that Ernestine and I got to share with one another.....
Well, that's something that I could never, ever put a price tag on.

I will always and forever be grateful for the time that she and I had together.....

And, she will be with Ben and I ALWAYS!!!!

Love, Denise & Ben

I would not trade a single day of Edgar or Jesse's lives with me to remove any of the pain.

There is a cost for everything - this is it.

I would take grief over not sharing my life with my furbuddies. The trade-off is worth it, and I'll have to go through it all over again for Em and Alice, too.

and i will go through it again for my 15yr old cat Gato.

I agree completely, I gladly pay the cost and every minute I had my Jakeybug was worth more.
I can't imagine life without any furbabies at all.

This grief is almost unbearable, but the love was infinite.

My life would never have been the same without Akasha. She was the only friend that I have ever had that stayed around for 15 years! She changed me in so many ways and always took good care of me. She was a wonderful addition to my life (and to the life of all those she touched). The pain I am going through now I would go through again, a thousand times, for the 15 year gift of having Kasha share her life with me.

Hmmmm, no memories, no pain. An interesting thought. With the immense pain that I've been feeling lately over Shiloh, the thought did catch my eye. Though Shiloh's time with me was brief, her presence enriched not only my life, but my very existance. When I consider the pain I feel now, I think my pain would have been greater having never known her at all. I guess the saying "It's better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all" really is true, for all the love I recieved from Shiloh is and was worth every ounce of pain I'm experiencing.

Nope - there's no way I would trade my memories of my babies for no pain.

The joy comes when you can remember the funny things you've shared, with a little pain.

I promise you, this point will come. It may take weeks or months but it will come.

A thought I had yesterday was about starting a thread to share our funny stories of our babies.

I think these would give us some much needed relief from all the grief, and to let us know that the joy in memories WILL return. It's also a way of honoring our babies, and keeping their memories alive.

Please let me know what you think.


Jan

Im probably a bit late here but im all for it, happy memories are all part of the healing process and to share them helps someone else to remember too.

Been off line a while - Anti Virus thingy ran out but all up, running and safe now, well so they tell us