Hope you had a wonderful holiday and a happy new year! It has been awhile since I've sent out a newsletter and a lot has happened since the last one. I won't be able to share everything in this newsletter but I will say it's been a time for growth and change coupled with a lot of highs and some really tough lows. Isn't that life though? Always throwing curve balls our way. And before I dive in - I should share that if you are new here to my newsletters they aren't always this heavy - they are typically full of inspiration and positivity (this one will be too) but I also wanted to share a little more of what's been on my heart.
First, I want to acknowledge how much we all appreciated your support and kindness when we lost our sweet pup
Mavis the end of September. Many of you followed our journey with Mavis from the day we brought her home, her daily musings and then shared in our sadness of her passing. We are all still adjusting to this major loss and go through our good days remembering her along with some very sad days when we really miss her and wish things were different.
It's so hard losing our fur babies who are members of the family. Many of you shared your stories and experiences with loss and grief and it was comforting to know we weren't alone. So thank you again - we appreciate all of you.
Many of you asked what happened and at the time it was just to sad and difficult to share. There is also a lot of judgement that comes with making decisions about the quality of life with our beloved pets. When you are grieving the last thing you need is judgement especially when you are already in a difficult situation making the best of it. I share our story to hopefully help others know they aren't alone in making these difficult decisions and that ultimately doing what is best for your pet and your family is what is most important.
Mavis was diagnosed with a (not curable) genetic condition typically found in terrier breeds and especially in her breed; Welsh Terrier. It is a lot to unpack here so I won't go into every detail of it but it was really difficult and I couldn't make sense with it at first. This heartbreaking news brought us to one of the hardest decisions we have ever had to make as a family. When I tell you that coming to our decision wasn't easy - I can't stress this enough - how incredibly heartbreaking and difficult it was to make that decision. We went down every option, path, choice and ultimately we chose what we felt was best for Mavis's quality of life. Those of you who have been in this situation understand. Those of you who haven't - I pray you never have to.
After talking to Mavis's breeder we did find out Mavis's dad was a carrier for this disease and it's very unfortunate that Mavis ended up inheriting the gene. This is my second welsh terrier, my first one (Austin) lived until he was 11 and he never had any genetic/health issues so this was never on my radar and we were completely blindsided. I would highly recommend double and triple checking with a breeder about the genetics of the parents. Seeing proof is even better. Even when you think you do your due diligence - dig further.
I'm so grateful we had almost 6 years with her but it was not enough. Even though we made the most amazing memories with her and gave her all of our love it wasn't fair that her life was cut short. I've learned so much more about grief through my children's eyes and it has made us stronger as a family. Also I highly recommend having your children talk to a trusted family therapist - it is very helpful when coping with loss and grief.
We will never forget Mavis and I'm so glad so many of my blog posts and IG posts included her so I will always have memories of her close to me. I have had dreams about her and they are always so happy and magical - which reassures me that she is now pain free and comfortable in heaven. We are also very grateful that we had the comfort of our puppy Minnie to get us through this difficult time. She was our saving grace - little did we know she would be when we brought her home a year ago. Our hope in getting Minnie was that she would be Mavis's new buddy to play and have fun with as my parent's dog Annie got older. I know Minnie is sad too - Mavis was her best friend and taught her so much.
I share these struggles and challenges to help others know that you aren't alone when life doesn't feel fair and when things don't go as you hoped they would. I do believe it is what we do when we are presented with these challenges and obstacles that makes all the difference.
The girls gave her what they called “the best day ever” before we said our goodbyes. I wrote a tribute about her so we could have it to remember her. We let our feelings remind us that the weight of our sadness meant we had been given the gift to love her so very much. Losing someone you love - human or animal is devastating. Make sure to talk to someone - friends, family, coworkers, a therapist. Don't go through it alone.
On a brighter note…I'm looking forward to a new year and while I don't have many resolutions, I do have a few things I am looking forward to trying this year. One of which is to continue to be consistent with my workouts, I am back to barre classes and I'm loving them. I would love to find my way back to photography, blogging and reading more. Now that the big and major renovation projects have been completed in our home I feel like I can regroup and share some of the before + afters on the blog and what we learned along the way. I also want to continue sharing quick + easy weeknight recipes with you - I've included a couple below. What are you looking forward to in the new year?
