Relationships & Family

Away into the Sky

batch — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 20:22:56 -0500

I lost the brightest thing in my life when my wife, Connie, died this year. She was warm, loving and cheerful. So much so that one Mother's Day I got her a bright yellow canary.

Connie named the bird Sunny. On gray days Sunny's yellow feathers brightened the room. Her chirps filled the house. Sometimes she pressed her face up to the cage to watch us like we watched her.

Pet Project

jbloustein — Fri, 08 Jan 2010 15:30:34 -0600

My husband, Steve, and I were inconsolable when we had to put down our cat Angie after 13 years.

A Maine coon with fluffy brown fur and enormous green eyes, she had been rescued from a storm drain during a torrential downpour.

“Remember how she used to lie on your architect table and follow your pencil with her paw?” I asked Steve.

“Remember how she’d race into the kitchen whenever you baked oatmeal cookies?” he said. “She knew you’d give her a bite.”

Mystery Dog

batch — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 20:21:28 -0500

Talk about a full house! Mine was bursting at the seams even before we got a second dog.

Our four teenaged boys had inherited a love of animals from my husband, Joe, and me. We owned cats, rabbits, hamsters, guinea pigs, caterpillars and a python. But I couldn't resist that puppy with the copper-colored muzzle. From the moment I held Spanky in my arms, I knew she was mine. We found room for her.

Good Dog, Shep

tselucky — Tue, 16 Dec 2008 16:48:43 -0600

My dog Shep is dead. She knew she was ill but couldn't tell me. An X-ray found the tumor on her heart; it was bleeding. She died with her head in my hands.

Our Golden Girl

jbloustein — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 14:51:01 -0500

I write books for a living, but it took a dog to teach me what living was all about.

In the end she taught me about dying too, and how to let go of something you couldn’t imagine going on without.

Her name was Trixie and my wife, Gerda, and I would never be the same after she came into our lives.

Trixie was an inspiration. She restored our sense of wonder. She made us laugh and at times made us weep in anguish.

The Cat Who Came Back

jbloustein — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 17:17:23 -0500

We didn’t need another cat.

When a friend dropped by with a tiny white kitten in search of a home, we determined to be adamant. No more cats.

This one looked around calmly, not at all intimidated by the two cats (one vastly pregnant) glaring at her from their separate corners. Then she yawned, climbed up onto my husband’s lap and into the pouch of his hooded sweatshirt, and fell fast asleep.

It was love at first sight.

Rambler's Return

jbloustein — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 15:08:26 -0500

Christmas Eve should have been a happy day.

Our house was decorated. Work was done at the small-town church where my wife, Ricki, and I are pastors. Our kids and their families were coming over the next morning. And best of all, Blake, my grandson, was coming with them.

Blake had just finished basic training in the Navy. We hadn’t found out till the last minute whether he’d be home for the holidays. It would be such a relief to see him.

Our Year with Penny

jbloustein — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 14:15:40 -0500

The day I met Penny my life was pretty much falling apart.

My husband had just told me he wanted to leave. We were in the middle of a remodel, and our house literally was falling apart. I had a job at a costume store in a city south of Los Angeles. But I felt farther than ever from my dream of being a Hollywood costume designer.

How was I even going to make my house payment?

Christmas Mourning

jbloustein — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 13:23:19 -0600

Holidays are supposed to be a time of joy and family gatherings. Which is exactly why they’re so devastating for people who are mourning the loss of a loved one.

The Dog Next Door

admin — Sat, 13 Dec 2008 09:32:55 -0600

When I was about 13 years old back home in Indiana, Pennsylvania, I had a dog named Bounce.

He was just a street dog of indeterminate parentage who had followed me home from school one day. Kind of Airdale-ish, but of an orange color, Bounce became my close companion. He'd frolic alongside me when I'd go into the woods to hunt arrowheads and snore at my feet when I'd build a model airplane. I loved that dog.