Walking with Rhea who is always walk ready!

Rhea Wisdom:"Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail." Ralph Waldo Emerson

Rhea,an unusual name I know, but in ancient times the mythological Rhea commanded a revered position among the Greek Gods and Goddesses. As the Goddess mother, mother of all mothers, her divine duty was to drive the chariot which delivered the dawn. My small partner, Rhea was delivered to me at dawn October 27, fourteen years ago along with three sisters.

So it seemed appropriate to choose dawn as the time for our daily walks. It is the hour when the city lies still, and in this quite, your senses are heightened, delivering smells, sounds, and tastes that defy detection during the course of your normal day.

I find it interesting that Dawn is the time when the static energy of night overlaps the electric energy of day, the period when all is in balance. Yogis refer to this time as Sattwa. To further explain, it is the moment just before on ocean wave retreats to gather energy for the next wave, that place of rest, when clarity and knowledge come together. Rhea and I called it walking with God, our spiritual time.

This morning ritual had become next to impossible in the first weeks after her death. I felt abandoned, alone, and I ached to see her trotting ahead, tail wagging. I worn sunglasses to disguise the red eyes and my tear stained cheeks. Nobody seemed to noticed, and I realized how we become ghosts moving through are daily routine, absent of awareness. I wondered how many changes, crisis, or loses had gone unnoticed by me?. The answer didn't matter. I just wanted to scream at the top of my lungs, SHE'S GONE, DOESN'T ANYONE CARE.

But the pain subsides, or maybe my focus just shifted to the new puppy. I don't really understand the mechanics of grief, how it comes and goes. But at the most embarrassing moments, like when speaking to my neighbor and she simply commented on Rhea's absence. I became a blubbering mess. In an attempt to console me, my neighbor tells me the story of loosing her dog not so long ago, and now we are both standing in the street sobbing. We are not alone, and there is comfort in that thought.

Clearly, my solution to remove from sight all objects that belonged to Rhea would not solve the problem outside the house. And after all, Brandy would need to be walked, but I had a plan for that problem. We (Brandy and I) would just avoid Rhea's old routes. Together we would explore new horizons, uncharted territory. Hum, how old do they have to be before you can stroll around the neighborhood? (I'll get back to you on that later.)

Jack Russells are high energy dogs, and those shorts legs can cover a lot of territory when they put their paws to the ground. Rhea was 'walk-ready' any time of day. I loved this picture of her trying to convince my husband Rick that she needs a walk.

TWIT PIC: Stay Tuned; 4 Paws on the ground, the next generation Brandy - Watch her grow!

"The journey can start only when you take the first step." Rhea Wisdom

"Friendship is a sheltering tree." Samuel Taylor Coleridge

Hi, I'm Ginny Lieberman. I am a writer, and as a writer my job of putting word to paper had never seemed problematic. However, when the road to getting published mandated that an author(that's me) needs a Blog, I was overwhelmed by the task of selecting a topic. My published friends rallied with suggestions; write about writing, write about your hobbies, write about what you love to do, write about a life without hormones. The list went on and on, until six weeks ago my problem was solved. The solution came not by some brilliant revelation or suggestion, but by the ebb and flow of life itself.

The loss of my beloved companion, my 14 year old Jack Russell, all 13 pounds of vibrating energy and a voice that carried for miles, left me devastated. Rhea had been my foot warmer at night, burrowing deep under the covers, my protector by day, and the doorbell(when ours was broken). She had come to the end of her journey, cancer had won. The grief consumed me, and as it did I feared it would never end.

As empty-nesters, we fill the holes left by our children when they leave the nest. Rhea had filled my life with joy and unconditional love at a time when our children and grandchildren were miles away, and my career in the fashion business had ended. Rhea gave rhythm to our lives, my husband and I, and she became the focus of our love; fulfilling my need to nurture and my husbands need to provide. Food,walk, play,sleep, the time of day was told by her needs. Now the silence echoes through empty rooms, replacing that larger-than-life personality which had filled our house with love.

My blogs purpose, the premise of these cyberspace musings, it's cathartic they say to write down ones grief (but boring I'm sure). So, after sharing so many like stories with colleagues who had also lost a beloved pet, I decided this would be a journey of making space. A cleaning house, so to speak, on all levels; physically, mentally, and spiritually. It's a process, we needed to heal, we needed to fix whats broken, and my husband and I needed to fill that hole.

I would need to make space for the next generation of Jacks to join our household, Brandy. She was born August 26, and will be taking her home on Halloween weekend (ironically on Rhea's Birthday).

Join me on this journey to pay tribute to my tenacious and loving Rhea. Help us make room for the next generation of Jack Russell,Brandy, and learn what it's like after 14 years to have a puppy in the house.

To find out how crazy these little-but-mighty Jack Russells can be and checkout the You-tube videos of the extraordinary Just Jessie, and her trainer!!! She made me smile when I thought all my smiles had been used up.
Type in; Just Jessie the Jack Russell and search.