Rosie was my sweet girl. A beautiful chocolate lab, I rescued her from the shelter when she was just 2 years old. She was very shy at first, and a little afraid. I don’t think she was used to love and affection. But she came around and soon enough, she was looking forward to all the kisses and cuddles. Rosie loved to play everything from fetch to catch, but most of all, Rosie loved to hide things. She would grab her ball or a shoe of mine and she would put it somewhere and wait for me to find it. You could see the joy on her little face. I’d watch her hide every item, so I always knew where everything was, but Rosie didn’t know that. I’d pretend to search for her toys or my flip flop (or whatever else she felt like hiding) and Rosie would just follow me around, tail wagging in excitement. One time, Rosie attempted to hide my keys. Thankfully, I heard the jingling because I hadn’t known she was trying to play her favorite game since she had decided to start it without me. I wouldn’t have thought to search under the pile of sweaters in my room. Rosie wasn’t super happy that I caught her in the act, but I made it up to her with hugs and belly rubs. Rosie was my best friend. We did everything together. She even liked to help me cook. Well, she liked to watch me cook and catch whatever food I “accidentally” dropped on the ground for her to eat. She was great at cleaning up those types of messes. I’d chop up some chicken for a salad and Rosie would wait patiently for her pieces. My sweet girl. Rosie loved to watch the stars with me. We would go out in our backyard and sit in our hammock and stargaze. Sometimes we would see a shooting star and I have no idea what Rosie would wish for, but I would always just say thank you. I was already happy and I wanted the universe to know that I was so very grateful. Rosie loved to dance. I would put on our favorite songs and she would stand up on her hind legs for a little bit and dance around. She was a very talented girl and music was one of her favorite things. Sometimes I would sing to her. My voice isn’t the prettiest, but Rosie made me feel like I was pretty great. I miss it. Singing and dancing pretty badly with my dog. No judgment. Just love. I found out Rosie had cancer after a trip to the vet. She had been yelping in pain anytime I tried to put her leash on her and apparently, her lymph nodes were incredibly swollen. Rosie didn’t have much time left. My sweet, happy girl. I made the choice to spend one more night at home with her, keeping her as comfortable and pain free as possible. And I sang to Rosie. We laid outside in our hammock and we looked at all of the stars. I wanted so badly to be able to make a wish and for that wish to be able to keep Rosie with me forever. But there were no shooting stars that night. No one would be granting me any extra time with my sweet girl. The next morning, we drove back to the vet together and I cried the whole way there. My Rosie. The only comfort I found that day was knowing she would no longer be in pain. I miss her beyond words, but I will fondly keep every memory of hide and seek, stargazing and off beat dance parties with my sweet girl for as long as I live. I love you, Rosie.
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“Amazing people can do amazing things.”
I ordered a few things from Walgreens a while back and when I received my order, I noticed that a greeting card had been put in the bag with all my stuff. It said “Amazing people can do amazing things.” on the outside and “Keep on being the one and only you.” on the inside. I didn’t order or pay for a card so it shouldn’t have been with my stuff. I came to the assumption that the delivery person had purchased the card with their own money and put it with my order to be nice. And I wondered if this was always something that this person did whenever they were delivering random things to random people, or if they just felt like including a card in my order for no real reason. But it made me smile. I don’t remember what type of mood I was in. Was I feeling low and in need of a pick me up? Was that card exactly what I needed in that moment? I don’t know. But it made me smile. I thought about the delivery person and how sweet such a small gesture from them was and it made me want to make others smile too. If I can get a card for a random person to make them smile or give someone a compliment just when they need to hear it, why wouldn’t I? You never know what type of mood someone is really in and a little kindness from another person could be all they need to feel better or push through. Whether it’s a stranger like me or someone I know and love. Maybe someone I know and am not all that fond of. It wouldn’t hurt me to be kind. And cost of a greeting card aside, it’s normally free to be friendly. Receiving that card that night from that random delivery person was really special to me. I keep it sitting on my dresser next to my mirror now. And I see it everyday. “Amazing people can do amazing things.” I sometimes wish I could thank the person who gave that card to me, but there’s no way to contact a delivery person once the delivery is complete. Corny as it sounds, I still think about them and hope they’re doing well. I hope they’re still giving random cards to random strangers to lift their spirits and make their days. Just thinking about it makes me want to be a better person. Receiving a card from someone who has no idea who I am or what I might be going through, it meant a lot. I wonder if that person thinks of the strangers he or she has given cards to. I like to imagine they do. And I hope that person is living a good life. I’ve always tried to be a good person, to make people happy and spread kindness wherever I go. But that person made me want to be a better person even more than I already did. They made me want to make sure that I always leave people better than how I found them. Whether it’s a simple compliment, a helpful hand or a greeting card from Walgreens. I don’t ever want to be the reason someone is upset or hurting. I want to make sure that crossing paths with me is as pleasant an experience as it can be. I want to be generous and kind. I want to be there for people however possible and make sure that they know that they are amazing people who can do amazing things. No matter how big or small.
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