Wag More. Bark Less.

Today Chris and I were getting out of the car today and he noticed the lady parked in front of us had a sticker on her SUV that said "Wag More. Bark Less". He laughed and pointed it out to me. Being the dog lovers (and parents) that we are, it was very cute to us. He however went on his way down the parking lot and I stared a second longer. As cute as it was meant to be, it actually had a deeper meaning for me. It seemed to very subtly sum up everything that had happened in the last 5 days.

On Tuesday last week, Chris' father passed away of a heart attack very suddenly and without warning. I will post a separate entry of something I wrote after we found out so that you can get a better idea of how it affected me. These last few days, Chris and I have had many conversations of life, love, and making the most of those we care for that we are fortunate enough to have with us now. As most people do after they lose someone close, we talked a lot about the guilt and regret that comes by not having made more time and feeling as though we didn't do enough with the time we had. In the end, we began realizing that it is only human to not begin making plans with someone by prefacing that "we better do it because one of us might die tomorrow". It isn't logical (or sane, in my opinion) to make sure that each and every day you make phone calls to everyone you love on the off chance that they might not be alive to hear from you the next day. We have to accept the time we did have with those we've lost and not feel guilty that we should have done more. Sometimes just being reminded of how fragile life is can be a positive lesson that can help cope with the blow of tragedy. We have to spend more time wagging than we do barking.

So, not to change the subject, but as you can probably tell this is my first entry in my new blog. Starting this damn thing was my number one promise I made to myself this weekend. I didn't want to start out with a normal biography of who I am and what I'm about because it is more important to me that I stay focused on the reason I'm doing this: which is not for me at all. Allow me to explain...

Chris' father's funeral was beautiful. There were tons of pictures in a digital slideshow and scrapbooks and photo albums to skim through filled with old report cards and certificates of his achievements. A lot of people were hugging and thanking me for having so many pictures of him from our reception as it was the last pictures of him anyone has. It made me happy that I could do that, but then I was sad when I realized they were absolutely right. Our reception was in April... and it was July. In the age of cameras and camcorders on cell phones right in our own pockets, could it have really been 3 months since someone captured my father-in-law on film?

It isn't anyone's fault, of course. I'm not a picture taker myself unless something cute happens I want to capture and email to Chris or post on facebook. I despise"posey" pictures like those God-awful Olan Mills memories I know every single one of your parents have of you from the early 90's... and don't even get me started on the horror that is "Glamour Shots". I don't even think I have even owned a camera that wasn't disposable. But seeing all of Terry's loved ones gathered around and smiling through their tears at the bits and pieces of his life that were captured and preserved forever, I knew it was time to make more permanent the memories of my life that I make every day.

So from now on, here goes...