There was actually one particular time that I can look back on as a rather defining moment. And it is that experience that finally led me to stand up and holler at the top of my lungs, “All ye single and heavy laden, paddle in my direction!”
It was as if I was in search of like minds in the sea of singleness to whom I could say, “Please. I need to know that I am not a mutation or accident that somewhere went awry in the evolutional relationship chain.” I simply needed to know that others like me, out there somewhere, had woken up one morning and found that they too had grown up, and gotten single. Ugh. There. I said it.
If you are reading this, chances are pretty good, that you, too, have finally hit that point. And if not, you probably will. Think about it. Whether you have not-yet-married, have recently divorced, or have found your self an unsuspecting widow/er, unless you beat the odds, it will happen. You will one day realize that you, too, have grown up and gotten single.
So, for now. There are no children or posterity in my life. I have a dog to fill that void.
You know how it is. We singles and our dogs. Or cats. Or birds. Or Geckos. Our parents have even succomed to calling them Granddogs, etc.. My mother has, at least. She is such a trooper. My grandmother has taken to calling him “old faithful”. He is the closest thing to a grandchild my mother and grandmother have ever had from me. This dog is my pride and joy and brings hours of smiles and laughter. He is my gift from above, and I am praying he lives to be 50.
I refer to my dog as, “The Boy”. So does my mother. If I disappear at some point, and fall off the face of the earth for a few weeks, chances are good that Judge has gone on to his eternal reward and that I am in deep seclusion somewhere undergoing “healing” or have checked myself into the nearest monastic retreat for seclusion. Sad, but true.
🙂
If you are a single, with a beloved pet, you totally get it. But enough for now. We’ll revisit this topic again– later. Stay tuned.
S.