Bittersweet

I have a whirlwind of emotions swirling through my mind right now, so I hope you don't mind if I share some with you.

I have two goodbyes to make this weekend.

The first being Tiny Tim.  Yes, the sweet little nugget will be going to his forever home tomorrow and no that forever home is not ours.  We decided to let another volunteer do the adoption (and travel) for us, which meant that last night was his last night with us.  He'll be picked up this evening and start the next portion of his life tomorrow morning.



I realized yesterday that we had him 10 weeks, which is the longest we've had any of our four fosters.  It seems a bit surprising given that he is young, healthy and obviously adorable. No wonder we became so attached.  Similar to saying goodbye to the others, we'll move on but not forget.  How could we forget this beautiful boy? (Although we'll be happy to say bye to his stinky gas. Bulldogs are known for being gasey, but Tiny takes the cake!) After all, letting him go, in return we'll help more dogs and more families in the future.  That's what Ben and I tell each other when we start to tear up.

An even harder goodbye to make is called for this weekend.  I'll be going back home to say a possible (and probable) goodbye to my grandpa.  In the past year or two, his health has battled up and down and it's currently down, most likely not coming back.  He's 91 and has lived a long and healthy life but his heart struggles.  He had a pacemaker put in about a year ago to help with a heart "flutter" (I apologize, I'm sure that's not a true medical term) but it seems it's not enough.  He recently spent two weeks in the hospital and is now back home.

It seems that every one's minds are thinking it's just a matter of time.  I have five aunts and uncles on my mom's side. Four of the five went home last weekend to start saying goodbyes and to figure out what's next. My gram and gramps live in their own house and typically get around just fine. However, you know there's a certain level of concern when the grandkids, all in their 20s and 30s, are banished to the basement so the "adults" can talk.

Today medical staff is coming to take down my grandparents bed and set-up a hospital bed for Grandpa (my Grandma sleeps in a guest room because my grandpa says she moves around to much at night. He's still got some fight in him ;O).  My mom recommended I come home to see him and visit, "the sooner the better". While . Perhaps he'll surprise us and hang on longer than we all except, but since no one knows when their time will come to an end, I'd rather be safe than sorry and spend a little more time with Gramps.