Beautiful Bailey

When I lose someone important in my life, I try to think of their very best qualites and somehow apply that to myself and my life.

Pappy, my paternal grandfather, was the most wonderfully patient man. He was hardworking and I never remember him complaining. I'm sure you're all thinking I totally missed the mark on this one, right? Trust me, I work on this regularly. Admittedly, I have a long way to go.

What stands out about Nana, my paternal grandmother, was the way she cooked for the ones she loved. When we would visit, she would always fix my Dad a "Dutch breakfast"-- although none of us are really sure what was Dutch about it. Her house was full of treats-- whether it was the candy bowl full of blow pops or the chocolate cake sitting on her counter. Filling peoples' bellies comes much more naturally to me than patience.

Wednesday, March 19, 2008 our beloved family dog, Bailey passed away peacefully. While my family is now working through a great deal of sadness, our feeling of loss is a direct reflection of the joy she had brought us over the last 9 years.

She had so many great qualities. She exercised so much patience with the younger dogs, seeing them through their puppy years, their first lesson being not to go near her food bowl. I like to think she really taught Lucy, and more recently Beast, the ways of the world... or at least the back yard. Dad swears that Bailey used to run grids in the backyard searching for her ball. When I find myself enjoying a cool breeze, I will think of her. Or when I'm laying in the hammock on the patio, I will remember how she always used to try to crawl in.

I'm going to make a commitment to swim more often and take more walks. These are two things Bailey LOVED to do. Swimming came so naturally to her (duh, she's a lab). She loved the trips we took to the beach, trotting along the surf, letting the waves splash her. She never minded the occasional bath. As a puppy she used to try to take showers with us! On walks, Bailey would occasionally refuse to go down a path, and once her mind was made up, there was no changing it. And there was that brief period of time where she wouldn't leave the driveway unless another dog or human went along with her and Dad. She hated to be off her leash! The best part of the walk was always the journey up the hill-- wrestling the leash away from whoever was walking her. And if she finally got it away, she would bug them to take it back and start all over!

When Chris would come home she would sleep faithfully outside his door until he woke up to wrestle and play ball with her. This could last hours-- her laying in the middle of the hallway. But she was persistent. They had a special bond-- which I think was created late night, playing ball in the back yard.

I'll really miss seeing her lay at the top of the stairs, her barking until you throw her ball, and her constant solicitation of a good ear rub. We really got lucky to have such a wonderful pet.