Tag Archives: loyalty

Silent devoted companionship

“I have found that when you are deeply troubled, there are things you get from the silent devoted companionship of a dog that you can get from no other source.” — Doris Day If you’ve ever had a canine friend, you know what Day meant.  There is something about the friendship between humans and dogs that defies …

Continue reading

Tough as nails

“Love is not warm and fuzzy or sweet and sticky. Real love is tough as nails. It’s having your heart ripped out, putting it back together, and the next day, offering it back to the same world that just tore it up.” – Glennon Doyle Melton Very few writers are able to cut through the …

Continue reading

They have the best

“Everyone thinks they have the best dog. And none of them are wrong.” — W.R. Purche Years ago I saw an adorable cartoon that showed a little puppy excitedly informing his friends, “Guess what everyone? I am the world’s best dog! My human just broke the news!”  The older dogs are looking at one another …

Continue reading

For the good guys

“Unfortunately, it is often the bad guys who play the leading roles in our memory…Let’s write a script for the good guys…It will be a musical, full of drama, laughter and tears, sorrows and triumphs, and it will end with a joyful song of praise and thanks.” — Barbara Gill, in Changed by a Child, …

Continue reading

Love and laughter

“Such short little lives our pets have to spend with us, and they spend most of it waiting for us to come home each day. It is amazing how much love and laughter they bring into our lives and even how much closer we become with each other because of them.” ― John Grogan One …

Continue reading

Beautiful discovery

“The most beautiful discovery true friends make is that they can grow separately without growing apart.” — Elisabeth Foley One year ago today, I quoted from a wonderful book written by my friend Ellis Anderson, whom I met at college nearly 40 years ago.  Ellis and I were different in many ways, but we also …

Continue reading

He always stays

“A good dog never dies. He always stays. He walks besides you on crisp autumn days when frost is on the fields and winter’s drawing near.”  — Mary Carolyn Davies However else I remember 2013, I will remember it as the year of saying goodbye to dogs. Within a few weeks of the day we …

Continue reading

A friend who cares

“The friend who can be silent with us in a moment of despair or confusion, who can stay with us in an hour of grief and bereavement, who can tolerate not knowing, not curing, not healing and face with us the reality of our powerlessness, that is a friend who cares.” ― Henri J.M. Nouwen …

Continue reading

We’re a parade

“Friends: we’re a parade – even by ourselves!” – Mary Anne Radmacher Pictured above are three people whose presence in my life is a tremendous blessing. Without going into the details, let’s just say that without friends and loved ones, life is unbearable. But with them, it can be a celebration, even in the midst …

Continue reading

The one who comes in

“A friend is the one who comes in when the whole world has gone out.” — Grace Pulpit I’ve written before about how isolating trouble can be. To put it bluntly, most people would rather not think about illness, disability or death unless they can’t avoid it. Those who are dealing with such issues, often …

Continue reading

A friend knows

“A friend knows the song in my heart and sings it to me when my memory fails.” — Donna Roberts In April, during the weeks Jeff was recovering from the surgery to remove his brain tumor, we were unable to travel to our York home. I started to worry about various things I needed to take …

Continue reading

Silent devoted companionship

“I have found that when you are deeply troubled, there are things you get from the silent devoted companionship of a dog that you can get from no other source.” — Doris Day If you’ve ever had a canine friend, you know what Day meant.  There is something about the friendship between humans and dogs that defies …

Continue reading

Tough as nails

“Love is not warm and fuzzy or sweet and sticky. Real love is tough as nails. It’s having your heart ripped out, putting it back together, and the next day, offering it back to the same world that just tore it up.” – Glennon Doyle Melton Very few writers are able to cut through the …

Continue reading

They have the best

“Everyone thinks they have the best dog. And none of them are wrong.” — W.R. Purche Years ago I saw an adorable cartoon that showed a little puppy excitedly informing his friends, “Guess what everyone? I am the world’s best dog! My human just broke the news!”  The older dogs are looking at one another …

Continue reading

For the good guys

“Unfortunately, it is often the bad guys who play the leading roles in our memory…Let’s write a script for the good guys…It will be a musical, full of drama, laughter and tears, sorrows and triumphs, and it will end with a joyful song of praise and thanks.” — Barbara Gill, in Changed by a Child, …

Continue reading

Love and laughter

“Such short little lives our pets have to spend with us, and they spend most of it waiting for us to come home each day. It is amazing how much love and laughter they bring into our lives and even how much closer we become with each other because of them.” ― John Grogan One …

Continue reading

Beautiful discovery

“The most beautiful discovery true friends make is that they can grow separately without growing apart.” — Elisabeth Foley One year ago today, I quoted from a wonderful book written by my friend Ellis Anderson, whom I met at college nearly 40 years ago.  Ellis and I were different in many ways, but we also …

Continue reading

He always stays

“A good dog never dies. He always stays. He walks besides you on crisp autumn days when frost is on the fields and winter’s drawing near.”  — Mary Carolyn Davies However else I remember 2013, I will remember it as the year of saying goodbye to dogs. Within a few weeks of the day we …

Continue reading

A friend who cares

“The friend who can be silent with us in a moment of despair or confusion, who can stay with us in an hour of grief and bereavement, who can tolerate not knowing, not curing, not healing and face with us the reality of our powerlessness, that is a friend who cares.” ― Henri J.M. Nouwen …

Continue reading