Higher Motivation

Birds have always held a fascination for me. Not the sparrows, robins and blue jays that land in the crepe myrtles outside my office window. I like the big, soaring, graceful birds of prey: eagle, falcon and hawk.

The houses on our side of the street back up to a power company easement, so there is a long field probably 50 yards across with two of those big metal towers that carry lines elsewhere buried throughout the neighborhood. Two weeks ago a red tail hawk started roosting high in the air atop one of them.

Of course, I had to get out binoculars to take a close-up look. Then I had to get my family outside to see. Then I had to get my neighbor over and share the excitement of ‘my hawk.’ It took about two minutes for him to one-up me with: ‘Let’s walk back here about three houses and I’ll show you something even better.’ Across the field, nearly hidden in the forest of pine trees were two hawks guarding a nest. “I got my binoculars yesterday,” he said. “There are babies in the nest.” It’s a family.

Energy comes into our lives from many places. For some it’s a morning cup of coffee. Others find it in fruit. Kids prefer Frosted Flakes. For many years running did it for me. Last summer I switched to swimming and – once I figured out how to breathe – that does the trick. However, nothing is more uplifting than the instantaneous surge I feel when I see ‘my hawk’ sitting on his 100-foot high perch or soaring gracefully over the field.

Where does energy find you?

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Time Passages

Two weeks ago, we put down our 16-year-old Golden Retriever. It was the first time I ever had to do something like that. We had dogs as I was growing up, but a friend of the family was called upon to handle that task on the two occasions it was needed. I recall coming home once each from high school and college, and learning we were no longer pet owners. That sort of made the whole passing of life thing a non-event; which is why I never imagined what it would feel like to go through that process.

As the day grew near, I was helping her up to go to the bathroom and she had pretty much stopped eating. We knew in our hearts it was the right thing, yet it grew increasingly more difficult to think about the inevitable. We decided on Monday that it would happen on Thursday, and the next 72 hours were filled with each of us spending time alone with her.

For a decade in our current home, whenever someone held the gate to our driveway open a second too long, she would tear out and head off to the neighbors. On Wednesday night, we opened it for her, and after pausing to give me a “Is this a setup?” look, she gingerly walked out, and we accompanied her slowly to visit her favorite yards. Then we took pictures with each of us and her.

On Thursday morning, I awakened with that queasy feeling in my stomach, knowing what would happen. As the hour drew near, I kept telling myself, “You’re her best friend, and this is the greatest gift you can give her” – then the tears flowed. When we arrived at the vet, our dog that for so many years went crazy with excitement there gingerly walked inside. We all said goodbye, then our oldest daughter and I accompanied her into the room. She looked at us with tired eyes, and I knew she was saying, “It’s OK, I’m ready.” We loved on her some more, and the vet shared what each of the three shots would do. Within five minutes, it was over, and she seemed so at peace – having lived a wonderful life.

Our family spent the rest of the day together, sharing stories and looking at pictures of our departed member. By Monday, the pain was gone, and today we smile whenever we think of her (although I still look out the window and expect to see her rolling in the grass…and think about putting her out at bedtime). Personally, I believe “All dogs go to Heaven.” After all, wouldn’t God want to have the most lovable, forgiving, loyal creatures in his Creation around him!

Addendum: When she was three, our now college-age daughter loved to have us read the Madeline books to her. One day she blurted out, “When we get a dog, I’m going to name her like Madeline’s dog.” A year later, we did…and she did. A son and another daughter followed, and the entire family is blessed to have had Genevieve in our lives.

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