One Year Anniversary
On January 31, 2020, I walked out of Mutual of Omaha for the last time. I was fortunate that was before COVID hit, so I was able to have a retirement reception. It was a surreal day, and I saw a lot of old friends that day. I also was fortunate to have a party one month later. It was great to see more old friends and many family members.
It wasn’t long after that the world shut down. As excited as I was about retiring, one thing was looming on my mind. The next day I had to take our Yorkie Baxter to the vet for what I suspected was the last visit. Terry had to work, but I am better at handling those things than he is anyway. Before we left home, we took pictures of each other holding Baxter.
When I got to the vet’s office, it was crazy; I was there for a few hours waiting. The vet had to put three dogs to sleep, all unplanned. I just sat there holding Baxter close, and he was giving me kisses. I was unemotional that day, but I was thankful for the extra few hours spent holding him. I also got to hold him when the vet put him to sleep, which helped.
Baxter always loved the times I worked from home. He was fairly well behaved, but sometimes he came in and would want to be held for a few minutes. Somehow he knew when it was 3:00 pm and the normal end of my day. He would come into my office and jump toward my leg. Every day when I got home from work or when I worked from home, it was our time to cuddle in the recliner.
When I was retiring, I figured I could spend more time with Baxter. That didn’t work out, but Terry did start to work from home. He had been planning to do that, but it got sped up when COVID arrived. We had Baxter for almost 14 years, and he was a great dog. All animal lovers know that you know when to make that decision when they are suffering. That is the ultimate gift of love that you can give your animal.
Sorry to sound so serious and sad. I will do an upbeat post on Thursday. I have not received any guesses for the contest I talked about last week. Does no one have any thoughts on what I would be if not a BA? Hint- It involves risk. Until next time, please keep your glass at least half full.
