“Nobody Said It Was Easy”

“No one ever said it would be this hard, oh, take me back to the start”

I love this song so much that it makes me cry. I’ve been listening to it a lot lately because it seems to exemplify so much that is happening in my life.

I’ve had (and still have) so much grief that I am experiencing for various things. I realize that I am not alone in this grieving process — that in so many ways, many of us have been grieving (and still are) these past two years.

I’ve lost so much: a job, a relationship (or two) and the imminent loss of my beloved “elderly gentleman” dog, Jake (I don’t like the word “old” or at least the “tone” of how it is so often used). I’ve had people stop me on the street when I have been out walking Jake who, for some unknown reason that I have yet to understand, feel compelled to remark: “Oh, he’s old, look at all the white in his face” — I think rather understandably at moments like that, I become quite livid and usually cannot resist saying something like: “No, he’s not old; in fact, I’m going to give him a mohawk and dye his fur blue” — I am then greeted by stares of incredulity and remarks such as “You’re weird.”

Yes, I am.