"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.