Embrace Your Extraordinary Life!

Today I had a pretty amazing "aha moment" and I want to share it with you.  It may be a bit off topic...but then again maybe not.

This morning, I wrote the following post on Facebook:

"Good Parents vs. Extraordinary Parents
There are a lot of good parents out there and I applaud all of them because as we all know, it's not an easy job. But n my opinion, being an extraordinary parent is on another level and requires a person to not just look out for their own child but to look out for ALL of the children that they come in contact with - within their neighborhood, community, school, sports teams and other activities - everywhere. It's so disappointing when I witness parents on the sidelines at a soccer game or in the stands at a little league game who cheer only for their own kids. Some do not even try to learn the names of the other kids on the team. It's so important to support and encourage all of the kids. It fosters a sense of community for both adults and children and it teaches our kids that it's not just about them and that every single person is important. I am lucky enough to live in a town where I see that happening much more than in other places and for that I am very grateful. My kids experience a sense of belonging and security as a direct result of that which leads to more self-confidence and independence. Be extraordinary!"

Afterwards, I couldn't get the word "extraordinary" out of my head.  It seemed significant to me in some way but I couldn't quite figure out why.  Then, out of nowhere, it hit me.  

For the past year, I have been wishing and praying and hoping to be normal again, to have my normal, comfortable, familiar life back.  I miss my ordinary life.  But as much as I may WANT an ordinary life, it's becoming more and more clear to me that I was not meant to live an ordinary life.  It's just not in the cards for me.  

I realized in that moment of clarity, that maybe not being ordinary is not so bad...because what is the opposite of ordinary?  Yep. Extraordinary.  I never thought of extraordinary as a negative thing so maybe having a life that is not ordinary is not negative either.  Maybe (gulp!) it's actually a good thing!

Wow - what a concept!  Perhaps I am stating the obvious.  Maybe I am the last one to the party and everyone reading this is saying, "Duh!".  But to me, this was a connection of dots that had not been connected for me in that way before.  I finally saw the picture clearly.  It makes sense to me now. 

But I am NOT saying that I am special in any way - not at all.  Quite the opposite, actually.  I think every single one of us was born to live an extraordinary life. It's just a matter of figuring out which flavor of extraordinary is meant to be yours.  Our constant quest to be like everyone else, to blend in and be the same actually goes against what is in the divine plan of the universe.  We all have different gifts, different paths and different things to teach the world.  

It is within our challenges that we learn what exactly it is that we are meant to teach the world.  Hardships and struggles are actually opportunities for each one of us to learn what that "thing" is and then teach the world about something important, something that needs to be taught.  We are meant to share our experiences with the world and use them to encourage and inspire others - that's the whole point!

It is eye-opening, exciting and terrifying all at the same to time to make this connection in my mind.  Being extraordinary takes courage and I would be lying if I said I don't feel a certain amount of fear.  But I do believe that the extraordinary is where the magic happens.  

Today I made the intention to stop resisting and to start surrendering to living my extraordinary life...and to let it unfold unhindered.  

Be extraordinary and let the magic happen!

When you know better, you do better

"Do the best you can until you know better.  

Then when you know better, do better." 

                                            - Maya Angelou

                                          
When you know better, you do better.  Such a simple concept that I sometimes tend to forget.  But I do honestly believe that most people are inherently good, and that when they know better, they will do better.  Of course there are exceptions, but I firmly believe that they are just that - exceptions to the rule.

For this reason, I am determined to share with the world the reality of Lyme & Co. and the destruction and havoc it is wreaking upon our society, the totality of which we may not know for years to come.  Because in my heart, I know that once people become aware of the truth they will be as outraged as I am and take action.  Once the eyes of mankind are opened to the enormity of the situation we are facing, the fact that time is of the essence and that we have a legitimate epidemic on our hands that will eventually affect everyone, change will be set into motion.  People will start to wake up and really listen.  They will stand up in solidarity with millions of Lyme sufferers and demand that the medical community recognize what is truly a desperate situation in need of immediate attention.

People are sick.  People are in pain.  People are suffering.  People are dying.

I believe with all of my heart and soul that I, along with many others, am on the right side of history.  I have never had so much clarity on anything in my entire life.  They say that once you find your true passion or your "calling", the feeling is one that you can't deny or ignore - it's indescribable.  Similar to joy but not quite...it's like a fire has been lit inside your soul and you don't ever want it to go out.  Because it makes you feel so alive and full of purpose.

That is how I feel about my mission to spread awareness and educate humanity about Lyme Disease.  All I ever wanted to do was to become a mother.  Being a mom to my three enchanting little souls is truly the thing I am most proud of in this life.  Nothing could ever surpass it.  I love my kids so much it overwhelms me at times...their pain is my agony, their joy is my elation, their fear is my extreme terror, their sadness is my complete sorrow.  Watching them watch me be sick was sheer torture.  So desperately difficult.  The worst part of this nightmare, by far.

In many ways, I feel like I am doing this for them, to show my children that our challenges and hardships can be transformed into something amazing.  That we can rise above our own pain and help others overcome theirs.  Yes, I want to help bring awareness about this disease so that their generation will not have to suffer the consequences.  But I also want my kids to be proud of me, to know that I am the kind of person who is willing to stand up in defense of others and speak up for what I believes is right and true.  And I want them to know that we can turn our suffering into something positive to help others.

I have always told my kids that kindness is the most important thing to me, the quality I most want to instill in them.  I have repeated over and over to them that being kind and loving toward others is more important to me than anything else they could possibly achieve in life.  I also tell them that being kind involves being brave enough to stand up to bullies and defend other kids when necessary.  If you are not part of the solution, I tell them, than you are part of the problem.  Don't be afraid to stand up for what is right and don't worry about being cool or popular, because those things don't matter in the long run.  And I want them to believe that I don't just talk the talk, I actually walk the walk.  I want them to know that these are not just words that I speak...but actions I am willing to take when I bear witness to an injustice in this world.

The situation with Lyme & Co. is one of the greatest examples of injustice and inhumane treatment I have ever seen.  In my opinion, basic human rights are being violated every single day.  Human dignity is being denied and ignored for reasons that are political and financial in nature.  I find this disgraceful and so should you.

I recognize that I am putting myself out there to be criticized, judged and even ridiculed - but I honestly don't care.  It's a risk I am willingly to take, without hesitation or pause.  As I said, I know I'm on the right side of history and that years from now people will look back in horror and disbelief at the atrocities being committed in our towns, in our cities, in our country and all over the world.  They will be disgusted.  They will be in utter disbelief that nothing was done for so long to stop it.

Admittedly, the issues and controversies surrounding Chronic Lyme Disease and it's co-infections are so complicated.  When trying to sort it all out, it's hard to determine where the blame actually lies and who is aware of what pieces of this giant jigsaw puzzle.  I go back and forth about mainstream medical doctors and how much of the truth they really know.  I, along with many, many others, witnessed some very strange behavior, the consistencies of which are hard to ignore.

At the same time, I recognize that most doctors are simply acting based upon evidence that they believe to be true.  Evidence provided by the CDC, the AMA, medical schools, etc.  So a part of me wonders how we can really blame the physicians who are just doing what they think is right.  I choose to believe that if they knew better, they would do better.

But the part that I struggle with is their unwillingness to listen and think outside the box, their tunnel vision and inability to recognize what is going on right before their very eyes.  I am bothered by the fact that most doctors simply don't seem to want the information.  They cover their ears with their hands, close their eyes and sing loudly, pretending not to hear.  Or they chock it up to "anecdotal evidence" that is not based on scientific studies - seriously, if I hear that response one more time I'm going to vomit.  Why are they choosing to bury their heads in the sand???  I just don't understand - I feel like I must be missing something.

In his ground-breaking book, first published in 2013, aptly titled Why Can't I Get Better? Solving the Mystery of Lyme & Chronic Disease, which I highly recommend to anyone affected by Lyme or any other chronic illness, Dr. Richard Horowitz writes, "Medicine is a continuously changing and expanding field, and it is said that almost half of everything that we learn in medical school will usually be proven to be wrong in five to ten years.  There are numerous examples of the undeniable blessings of modern medicine: antibiotics and other pharmaceuticals; new high-tech diagnostic machines and tests; groundbreaking surgeries; and public health initiatives have extended human life (most especially in infancy) and increased well-being in the general population.  But along the way to modern medicine, some medical pioneers have been dismissed or even attacked for what others believed were their heretical ideas.
      For example, consider Dr. Ignaz Philip Semmelweis, a nineteenth-century Hungarian physician, who is now known as an early pioneer of antiseptic procedures described as the "savior of mothers."  Semmelweis made an important scientific observation: When he washed his hands before delivering babies, the women in his clinic did not die as often from puerperal sepsis (a bacterial infection that kills women shortly after giving birth) as those in another clinic in the same hospital, which had a death rate of 10 percent.  When he shared this important observation with his colleagues, he was ridiculed.  As patients abandoned his colleagues and begged to deliver in his clinic, he was ostracized by his medical society and driven out of medicine.  He was committed to an asylum, where ironically, he died of septicemia only fourteen days later, possibly the result of being severely beaten by his guards.
      Dr. Louis Pasteur was another example of a scientist who was ridiculed.  It was years before his theory of the germ origins of illness was proven to be correct.
      Helicobacter pylori were first discovered in the stomachs of patients with gastritis and stomach ulcers in 1982 by Australian doctors Barry Marshall and Robin Warren.  The conventional thinking at the time of their research was that no bacterium could live in the strong acid environment of the human stomach.  They also proposed that the treatment with antibiotics rather than those practices then in use, which included stomach removal, were best for ulcer patients.  Their discovery was ignored for almost twenty years, while patients had their stomachs removed because of bleeding ulcers, or were told to drink large quantities of milk, or were cautioned that their ulcers were due to stress alone.
      There is a long list of other examples available for anyone who wants to explore the history of medicine.  Many of these pioneers pushed the boundaries until the paradigm of that specific disease process was transformed.  Are things different today?  Have we learned to listen to those challenging the medical establishment?  Certainly not with respect to Lyme Disease and associated tick-borne disorders."

Powerful words from a well-respected physician who has become an expert in Lyme Disease after treating thousands of patients. Dr. Horowitz is an example of a doctor who clearly listens to and cares deeply about his patients.

Dr. Mark Hyman, M.D., #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Blood Sugar Solution writes, "Chronic Lyme disease affects millions, yet few doctors know how to diagnose or treat it, and few patients get better...Dr. Richard Horowitz provides the first comprehensive explanation of why, and thankfully provides a road map to wellness by addressing the root causes of this debilitating illness.  His approach reflects the future of health care.  Medicine would be much better if all doctors understood and treated illness like Dr. Horowitz."

For quite a while after I started to get better, I was very angry.  Angry at my doctors, family, friends - anyone and everyone who didn't believe what I had been desperately trying to tell them, that I was suffering from an infectious, physiological illness.  But recently I had an "aha" moment (as Oprah would say) and realized that there really was no malicious intent.  Everyone was just trying to help, doing the best they could with the information they had been given by trusted authority figures.  I can't blame them for that.  I don't want to be angry anymore - but I do want to be resolute, non-apologetic and fully committed to making sure that I do whatever humanly possible to expose the reality of the situation with Chronic Lyme disease.

My motivation may not be fueled by anger anymore but I am no less determined to defend those who are too sick and too weak to defend themselves.  I am even more committed to speaking up for those whose voices are muffled by the misery of Chronic Lyme disease.  I refuse to stop until the powerful stop pretending not to hear us and actually start doing something to right these wrongs.  The truth will prevail.

Believe in yourself. Trust your gut. Follow your heart. Tell the truth. Be brave. Do your best. Be yourself. Do hard things. Be kind to yourself. Be kind to others. Love yourself. Love others. Stand up for what you believe in. Defend those who can't defend themselves. Speak up for those who have no voice. Do the right thing.

I believe you and I will stand up for you, my friends.  I promise you, your voices will be heard!

This is Neuro Lyme: Woniya's Story

Recently, I was introduced to a woman by the name of Woniya Federoff.  Woniya is a friend of a friend who was interested in joining a support group I am starting for Chronic Lyme Disease.  We have not met in person yet, but she hopes to attend our first meeting at my house on August 16th.  As I have mentioned before, Lyme is very unpredictable and given the condition of Woniya's health currently, she won't know if she will be up to it until she wakes up that morning but we are really hoping she can join us.  This is the reality of Lyme Disease and it makes planning anything really tough.  

Woniya's story touched me deeply and I haven't been able to get her out of my mind.  Woniya was brave enough to share her story via YouTube and she gave me permission to post it to my blog. Due to years of misdiagnosis, Woniya is dealing with advanced, late-stage Lyme which has developed into what is referred to as "Neuro Lyme" or "Lyme Neuroborreliosis".

Sadly, Woniya's story is not at all uncommon or unusual and could have very easily been me.  By the time I started treatment with the Rife machine, I had already experienced two full-fledged seizures, one at a shopping mall in the presence of my three very scared children.   It was terrifying for all of us.  I recognize now that seizures can indicate the beginning of Neuro Lyme and this fact terrifies me even more.

Woniya's video is not easy to watch - it's positively heartbreaking, I will warn you.  But PLEASE, I implore you to watch it because it's real and it's raw.   This is what Neuro Lyme looks like for thousands of people and we cannot continue to bury our heads in the sand.  We need to show people what is happening all over the world before millions more end up like Woniya.  I truly believe that once people realize the truth, there will be extreme outrage.  How could there not be?

This is what can happen if early diagnosis does not occur, and unfortunately this is the case for the great majority of people suffering from Lyme Disease, which for all its publicity and acknowledgement by the public and most doctors to be a real 'disease', it is NOT RECOGNIZED by health insurance companies to be a RECOGNIZED DISEASE, eligible for insurance coverage.

Like most Lyme patients, Woniya is struggling to cover the insane cost of treatment for her illness.  As she wrote in an email to me, "I'm fine with you posting my video to your blog. At first I was paranoid about it being anywhere. I was trying to get things covered. I'm still dealing with trying to get things covered through insurance claims. I had friends say it needed to be out there and they started my Give Forward campaign. I don't know what we would have done without that. It has paid for my first months of treatment. It is amazing how fast you burn through those funds. This is such an incredibly expensive disease. I had to stop working." 

I can't say this more emphatically: Woniya's story is just one of MANY!  She exemplifies the reason that I am on this quest to bring much needed attention to this devastating disease.  Additionally, I feel a responsibility to protect our future generations.  Would you want your child to endure this agony???  Would you want your child to watch either of their parents go through such horror???  

This is Woniya's story:

"From the Depths of Darkness I Will Find the Light"

Woniya Federoff

https://youtu.be/wlNHGdNEb0E

If you or someone you know is experiencing unexplained, undiagnosed, chronic symptoms, PLEASE LISTEN!  Locate (or tell them to) a doctor who can properly diagnose Lyme.  This requires a Lyme-Literate physician who can order a Western Blot test and/or give a clinical diagnosis.  You have nothing to lose - if it's not Lyme, then lucky you.  But if it is Lyme Disease and you can start treatment early, you have a much better chance of getting well.  And get yourself a Rife machine - pronto!

LYME DISEASE FACTS:

• Children are at the highest risk of contracting Lyme Disease and are more vulnerable to central nervous system infections.
• Transmission of Lyme Disease and other infections can take place in a matter of minutes, particularly if the tick is not removed properly.
• Lyme Disease has been called "The Great Imitator" and can be mistaken for ALS, MS, Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, Fibromyalgia, Alzhemer's, Parkinson's, autism, and other illnesses.
• Research suggests that Lyme Disease and other infections can spread from mother to baby during pregnancy.
• Studies show that standard laboratory tests recommended by the CDC to diagnose Lyme Disease miss approximately half of actual cases, leading to misdiagnosis and an infection that is more difficult to treat.
• Over 63% of patients treated for Lyme Disease continue to suffer symptoms that can be debilitating.
• The CDC estimates that there are 300,000 new cases of Lyme Disease each year in the United States.  Some experts believe the actual number of new cases could be as high as 1-2 million new cases per year in the US alone.
• Lyme Disease has been reported in every state except Hawaii and has been found on every continent except Antarctica.

If you have questions, or know someone who does, please don't hesitate to contact me.  I am ready and willing to help anyone who is dealing with or suspects they may have Lyme & Co and/or Morgellon's Disease.  

Thank you for listening…pass it on!

:-) Liz 

All is well in my world.

"In the infinity of life where I am,

all is perfect, whole and complete.

I am always Divinely protected and guided. 

It is safe for me to look within myself.

It is safe for me to look into the past.

It is safe for me to enlarge my viewpoint of life.

I am far more than my personality - past, present, or future.

I now choose to rise above my personality problems

to recognize the magnificence of my being.

I am totally willing to learn to love myself.

All is well in my world.

                                                              - Louise Hay

Brace yourself: what I'm about to say is going to sound completely crazy.  But here it goes.  I have come to the conclusion that I actually like myself much better with Lyme Disease than without Lyme Disease.  Maybe that statement is slightly misleading so I will explain.  

Although I wasn't acutely aware of it, all was not well in my world before I got sick.  I had convinced myself that everything was fabulous.  On the outside, I probably appeared to have life all figured out.  Devoted mother to three beautiful children, great marriage, lots of good friends - the "perfect" life, everything I had ever wanted or hope for had come true.  

But deep down, I was plagued with feelings of guilt, insecurity, self-doubt,  need for perfectionism, and an overall feeling of inadequacy in most aspects of my life.  I was weighed down by stressing out about stuff that I had absolutely no control over, like the thoughts and actions of others.  I chastised myself for not being the perfect mother, wife, daughter, sister, friend, cook (who prepared perfectly balanced organic meals three time a day), dinner party host, home decorator, the fact that I didn't grow vegetables and compost in my backyard- you name it, I felt guilty about it.  I put a crazy amount of pressure on myself to be perfect.  The fact that I am a human being, naturally imperfect by design, made this an impossible and unachievable goal.  As a result, I didn't enjoy my life as much as I should have - and I couldn't put my finger why or how to fix it.

I have since learned what a complete and utter waste of time that was.  I cared so much more about how the outside world viewed me than how I felt about myself.  I worried constantly about being judged by others and what others thought of me - and not so much about what I thought of myself.  I let other people's expectations of me rule my life.

Then Lyme Disease moved into my body and took over my life.  All of my preconceived notions of what I "should" do went flying out the window and my world became very, very small.  I could handle only the simplest of tasks  - a major daily accomplishment would be mustering the energy to get up to take a shower.  I had no energy for anything else.  I had no idea at the time, but this became my biggest blessing.

Lyme Disease forced me to look internally and rely on only myself to survive the torture chamber my body had become.  Chronic illness is fraught with both emotional and physical challenges on a daily basis.  You spend many, many hours alone and you are forced to really look at yourself on a soul level.  Because I truly felt like I was dying, I thought about death all the time.  I thought about who I was and the person I wanted to be, the person I was meant to be.  I decided to start living my life with intention.  Because I was pretty much bedridden, I started with the thoughts in my head.  I recognized that what you think becomes reality - so if I ever wanted to get healthy again, those thoughts needed to be overhauled.  At some point along the way, what I saw inside myself became less and less difficult to face...because I realized that what I saw was not so bad.  The person I had always been was actually pretty amazing - I just never knew it.

Lyme Disease has shown me that I am stronger, braver and more compassionate than I ever could have imagined in my wildest dreams.  I realized that I have so much to offer the world, stuff that really matters.  Once I gave up worrying about what other people think of me, it allowed me the time and space to think about how I can use my life to change someone else's.  I had no idea that something so simple could be the key to all happiness.

I was talking on the phone with my sister the other day (who is 6 months pregnant with twin boys - so exciting!) and I was trying to explain this transformation to her.  I told her that I had never felt more confident, optimistic, independent and brave, that I feel so much stronger and wiser and full of potential for the future than I ever have in my entire life.  I feel like I have so much more to offer my children now and that showing them that I truly love myself will teach them how to love themselves.  What a concept!

Once we truly obtain self-love, the rest just falls into place.  We become better in all aspects of life - better parents, better partners, better siblings, better family members, better friends, better members of society and better human beings.  We stop focusing on things we can't control, like what others think of us, and instead put our attention and energy into living life with the intention of affecting the lives of others in a positive way.  If I can leave this earth with the world just a little bit better than when I got here, I will be so happy.  It's so simple - but I truly believe it is the key to finding and sustaining joy in our lives.

I don't live in fear anymore - fear is the opposite of joy.  Fear holds us back from experiencing the most glorious things life has to offer.  But in order to overcome fear, I now know that I must not avoid fear.  I must walk directly into it, sit with it for while and walk through the fear to the other side.  Lyme has taught me that I can handle anything, even really hard things - because I have.  For the first time in my life, I really believe in myself and I am proud to be me.  All is well in my world.

Love Letter to Cory

"It came to me that every time I lose a dog they take a piece of my heart with them, and every new dog that comes into my life gifts me with a piece of their heart. If I live long enough, all of the components of my heart will be dog, and I will become as generous and loving as they are."
                                                                                                                                   - Anonymous
                                                                                                 

                                                                                                                    


As you may know, my family and I just finished raising our first puppy, Cory, for Guide Dogs for the Blind. We began our adventure with Cory on July 4, 2014 when we picked him up from the GDB San Rafael, CA campus at just 8 weeks old.  Cory stole our hearts immediately with his adorable puppy face and super "chill" personality.

This past Wednesday, July 29, 2015, Cory was "recalled" by GDB, meaning he began a 10-week formal training process in preparation to become a full-fledged Guide Dog.  Statistically speaking this is a pretty big accomplishment, considering the fact that 75% of Guide Dog puppies are "career-changed" for various reasons before they reach this final stage of training so we are extremely proud of our boy - but admittedly, it is bittersweet.

Cory, aka "Nub" face-planted into our lives just a couple of months before the acute phase of my disease reared its ugly head - he had very short, nubby little legs and a round, plump little body so when he tried to walk he would literally face-plant, hence the nickname "Nub".  From the start, he was like a little duckling who "imprinted" onto me - he literally seemed to think I was his mommy.  And that was just fine with me.

When I got sick, Cory made it his mission to make sure he was by my side every waking moment of every day.  He literally did not leave my side for any reason except to eat or relieve himself.  My family felt bad for him since he was just a little pup and they tried and tried to get him to come downstairs to play and go outside but Cory would just go right back up to my room - and if the door was closed he would whimper until someone let him in.

As far as I'm concerned, Cory literally saved my life.  His presence was one of the few reasons I made it through those endless days, weeks and months.  I would wake up after being asleep for god knows how long and there he was laying on the floor next to my bed, content to just be there with me no matter what.  His devotion never wavered and I believe that the beauty and purity of his love got me through my darkest days.  I have never felt such unconditional love, not  wanting a single thing in return except just to be with me.  Cory and I developed a bond that I can't really explain in words - it was something I had never before in my life experienced.

For this reason I am certain he will be an amazing Guide Dog and I derive extreme pleasure in the notion that he will soon be doing the job he was born to do.

But to say that it was hard to give him up would be an extreme understatement - it was one the most difficult things I have ever done in my entire life.  I felt like a piece of my heart was being ripped out of my body.  I got through it with the support of my family and friends, the amazing staff at GDB and our phenomenal puppy raising group leaders.

But most importantly, it was the knowledge that there is another person out there in the world who needs him so much more than I do.  I reminded myself that one of the main reasons my husband Pedro and I decided to do this is to allow our children the opportunity to experience what it is like to give selflessly to another human being.  To experience that feeling of giving is to know joy in its purest form.  There is nothing quite like it...to know in your heart and soul that because of your sacrifice, another person's life will be positively affected in a profound way.  It's priceless and will hopefully stay with our children for the rest of their lives.

When we are out and about with Cory, the inevitable question we get asked over and over again is, "How can you give him up?  I could never do it." I often struggled with finding the perfect response until one day my daughter Sofia, who was 9 at the time, replied, "Why NOT us? If not us, then WHO?"  In that moment I actually felt victorious, a very rare emotion in the world of child rearing which is usually fraught with feelings of doubt and failure as opposed to success.  Yes, Sofia, you get it!!

We are definitely hooked.  Pedro and I and all three of our children recognize that the gifts we receive as a result of being allowed to raise these amazing creatures far outweigh the heartache.  As difficult as it was to give up Cory, we will keep raising puppies for Guide Dogs for the Blind.  We will welcome our next bundle of furry joy on September 5th - in the meantime we are puppy sitting for other GDB pups who will fill our hearts until then.

As Glennon Doyle Melton talks about in her book "Carry On, Warrior", hard things should not be avoided, because within hard things are the biggest blessings in life. Be brave and do hard things.  Be an example to our children.  Teach them to seek out challenges and in turn they will experience life's most amazing gifts.

Below is a letter I wrote to my beloved Cory on the day I said goodbye to him...

Dear Cory,

Today is a very difficult day for both of us, bittersweet in so many ways.  Selfishly, I want to keep you with me forever and never give you up.  But I know that the time has come for you to start to prepare for the job that you were born to do. I also know that there is a person out there right now who will soon receive the most amazing gift of YOU.  You will affect this person's life dramatically, providing them with independence, companionship, protection, love and so many other profoundly life-changing things .

Cory, I am SO proud of you, my PPP ("practically perfect puppy" as you were referred to by GDB staff), my sweet, beautiful, brilliant, hilarious boy whose love lifted me up and brought me so much comfort during a very difficult time in my life.  

Cory, I feel so honored to have had the privilege of raising you.  And as it turned out, I ended up needing you more than you needed me.

You provided joy and laughter in our house on a regular basis. We cracked up at the way you sat frog-like with your back legs splayed out like you were in yoga class, the way all of your skin, ears, lips and feet all seemed much too big for the rest of your body, the endearing way you would wait at the front door for me to trip over whenever I had the audacity to leave you behind, how excited you got to se e your best puppy friends, Gus and Augie, your "butt-wiggle" happy dance which you exhibited joyfully Christmas morning upon receiving your beautiful new bed - which you opened yourself by the way.  You provided belly laughs every single day, Cory - you are one hilarious pup!

Cory, thank you for coming into my life when I needed you most.  You left a permanent imprint on my soul in the shape of a heart which I will carry with me for the rest of my days.  

I look forward to hearing about your adventures doing the job you were always meant to do.  You are ready for your next chapter to begin and this raiser could not be more proud!  I love you, sweet boy, and I will never, ever forget you.

And if you ever want to come home, our doors are wide open!

xxxxx
mommy