She Enjoyed a Lot of Love -- About a Dog -- Both Audio and Text
“This is quite a picture,” Uncle Theodore remarked. “It shows them in their Hudson…with that little dog they had.
Abbie says that you and Vernon bought him as a puppy somewhere ‘round a year or so before you lost your dad.”
“Abbie’s right. My father’s health was slipping pretty fast, and knowing Mom would need a live-in friend to help her cope,
He and I slipped out one afternoon, and - for her birthday - bought that tiny ball o’ fur that we could only hope
“All the special things she’d done for him - that kept her busy…bathing - dressing - feeding - nursing…Corky would replace…
Thereby helping Mother - after Dad had passed away - wrestle with the emptiness and loneliness she’d face.
“They became inseparable, just as we had hoped, which verified the wisdom in the purchase that we’d made.
Corky was the sweetest little thing you ever saw, and all of us were tickled pink to see the way they played.
“Just before the funeral Mother told me, with a smile, after dinner - every day - she’d find that little fart
Curled up tight in Father’s wheelchair, basking in the sun…adding that her doing so both warmed - and broke - her heart.
“Sadly, Corky’s health began to weaken fairly early…which, of course, meant Mother had some special things to do,
But caring for her “baby” was a burden she enjoyed, just the way that Abigail is glad to care for you.
“Seven years would pass before the day would fin’ly come when we would pack up Mother’s things and move her in to town.
Dogs were not allowed, you see, in nursing homes back then, so, naturally, we took her. It was that, or…put her down.
“Learning that her tiny friend would not be there beside her day and night was hard for her…it tore her up inside,
But bringing Corky ‘round to visit once or twice a week helped to keep her spirits up, until the day she died.
“Corky spent her final days with us and I suppose it’s been about a year or so since Vernon found her dead,
Curled up tight in Father’s wheelchair, basking in the sun. We’d put it in our living room…it was her favorite bed.
“Yes, that’s quite a picture, Uncle Ted…and in that album, the one thing you may notice - that a lot are taken of - Is that little ball o’ fur. She’s in a bunch o’ pictures…and there’s no doubt about it… she enjoyed a lot of love.
PS: I've got 4 new CDs - @ 4 1/2 hours each = (62 diversely varied poems), listed on EBAY - under - “Mark Stellinga Poetry” - should those of you who travel care to be so entertained. (We use PayPal)
Cheers,
Mark
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