nuts and bolts

 Thank you to everyone that left such sensitive and extremely thoughtful suggestions for how to handle the loss of an animal with children. You are each so compassionate and wise... and a very useful list was created for easy reference for all of us. We are moving on nicely today. Adjusting. I guess you could say that we are becoming experts at that as a family.

And in keeping with shifting and evolving,  I realized it was time to retire the old and make room for the new. Yesterday we spontaneously bought a dining room table on Craigslist. These old bolts held together our huge and heavy antique one that carried all the memories of over a decade of family meals. The three of us were dwarfed by it, and I was beginning to feel oppressed by it. Dismantling it this morning and placing our smaller and simpler table was a relief. Getting each table in and out of the back door was a huge feat that my son and I worked on for hours, but we did it! My toe is a bit sore from when the old table top fell on it. Yeah- ouch! But other than that, we are feeling totally successful, resourceful and capable. Those three qualities are the nuts and bolts of the life I want to make each day forward. Tonight we will celebrate with our first meal on our "just right" table.