Danielle Luc Photography

there were two kids.

who had a dog.

who loved to play ball.

the dog’s time had come.

leaving us lonely and bored outside (and sad inside).

so kate got out colorful paints.

and helped her brother make frames to keep photos of their dog in.

and i chose to distract myself by reorganizing the cabinets that hold books and toys.

and took pictures.

all of these were taken over a period of 3 days. i had gotten a new lensbaby and had been playing with it (kind of non-stop).

and the way it turned out today when i finally put them on my computer took my breath away.

heart stopped for a moment?

was it the neat way the manual, selective and shifting focus images turned out? no.

it was the fact that i had not purposely taken photos that ended up telling a story of how the last 12 days have gone for my family.

yes…almost made my heart stop, i think.

ken had made that dog house with kate when she was 3. he wasnt sure how Bud would take to the new baby so he used an old closet door and built a dog house.

bud liked evan and never even used it. not once. we did have fun trying to make him get into it, though

after bud was put to rest, i cleaned up the yard and put his toys inside of it so the kids and my husband didnt have to see them scattered throughout the yard without a dog to play with.

the contrasts of all of this… of the painful change that has become us.  animal owners will understand that pets are part of the family.

i still expect:

the dog to greet me when i get home.

that he will come running when he hears the front door open for kate to get on the bus, so i still open it quietly out of habit so he doesnt come trucking through the living room.

to find dog hair everywhere even though i just vaccumed.

to have him sneek on the living room carpet to sit with me when kens on duty.

to have ken pretend to not know that i let him on the carpet.

to play ball with him when we are outside.

 the bare trees, they will bloom again. the flowers, first of spring, will die.

the paints again will be used for something more happy.

the toys and books will be disorganized way faster then they were put away appropriately.

the tree chunk was part of a tree my husbands grandmother saw grow in her back yard ( my home ) and was a “seat” in which i sat and watched my own children play that was cut down due to emerald ash borer.

cycle of life.

i had loved the above block sign so much that my cousin went out and bought me one and gave it to me last week.

and it’s true…

this lens i’d been playing with is called a “selective focus” lens.

i have to choose to focus on whats important sometimes, and the last twelve days and the weeks leading up to it i chose my family.

and my family and friends chose us. so thank you.

i cant get my dog back, and things will continue to change and evolve as nature always does – but in the end,

ALL YOU NEED, IS LOVE.