Last night I picked Beth and the neighbor kids up from school after my neighbor took a header off of one of their horses. (Not a pretty sight, with her face scratched, her whiplash and lower back injuries, and her leg bruised from branches.) Beth informed me bad things come in threes… with the first being this same neighbor’s cat being mauled by a dog, and then our loss of Lexie, and then getting dumped from a recalcitrant horse. My neighbor is always there for me, and it was she who helped me bring Lexie home from the emergency clinic on Sunday. I made dinner for her family last night, and rejoiced at how fortunate I am to have such a good friend so close.


As we were driving home from school yesterday, I felt Beth reach her hand forward from the back seat where she was sandwiched between the other two kids, and gently squeeze my shoulder. No words were spoken… but she clearly relayed the message that she knew I was having a hard day, and she was there for me. I hadn’t been crying in the car (one of the few times that I wasn’t) and I hadn’t said a word about the dog.


This child is only ten. How incredible that she can get outside of herself enough to pick up on my needs to that extent. And even more incredible that she would act upon it… and in such a quiet, unassuming and mature way. She didn’t feel the need to let her friends know what she was doing… it was purely for me.


I just returned from walking with my newest neighbor, a fellow dog lover who will fit right in with this horsey and doggey crowd. Who else would be happy to have my three dogs and her three dogs romping through her new home? She was full of questions about Beth… how old she was when she came, what her history was… for she had already spent enough time with her to be very impressed. Beth is impressive because Beth is Beth… I may have polished the edges, but she is the gem.


People have told me that as passionately as kids can fight an attachment is as passionately as they can embrace it if they so choose. Beth embraces life in a wondrous way. It is her depth, her passion, her intensity and her enthusiasm that allowed her to make a decision to heal. Like her, I so wish I could meet the incredible people who created this incredible child.


Next up, help me decide which dog to pursue…

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