The DU Lounge

Look for understanding later.

Grief has stages and you go back and forth as time goes on. You know how it goes, but every loss hits you differently.

I hope you'll find a way to fill the hole when you're ready. Too soon, I'm sure, but our local shelter has volunteers who walk and play with the dogs and cats to keep them social. If you and your wife (I'm going to start calling her Angel) aren't ready to get a pet, maybe helping the shelter will give you some comfort. Our shelter also has fostering programs for flexible lengths of time. All of us who support the shelter hope for foster fails, when the dog or cat goes into a foster home and gets adopted. I volunteered after our big dog died. We ended up not having a dog for over a year and going to the shelter was healing. I went out to walk the dogs and ended up washing a tubful of puppies every Saturday morning so they could go visit a nursing home. One of the exchange students we knew wanted to walk the dogs and needed an adult along, so I went along with her. After you get past the urge to adopt every pet at the shelter, being a volunteer is fulfilling.

We're thinking of you.