Farewell Honey

Today me and my family bid farewell to our beloved dog, Honey. She had been weak for a few days, suffering from diarrhea and being unable to keep her food down and so, my father, eventually made the tough decision to have her put to sleep. Honey was a briard, introduced into the family by my mother, eleven years ago. She was a wonderful dog, full of personality. She loved food and would eat pretty much any snack that was offered to her. Her culinary tastes were not limited to stuff that you'd expect a dog to like. No, she would eat lettuce and tomato, just as readily as she would eat meat. Every day I came home from a work, she would greet me at the door and I would bend down and shake her paw, while she licked my face, until I told her enough.

As a guard-dog, Honey was not very good. Not because she didn't guard the house; she did and she took that job very seriously, but because she really only guarded it when it did not need to be guarded. At one point, someone actually broke into our garden at night and Honey, being fast asleep, did not wake up at all.

She was a very likable animal, charming everyone who came into contact with her, even people who normally don't like dogs and this house will be empty without her.

Farewell, Honey, for eleven years, you were a source of happiness (and, occasionally, frustrations; I can't deny that) for our family. You were truly man's best friend and you will be missed.

A Death In the Family

Yesterday evening my parents told me that my Grandfather (that is, my father's father) had passed away. The news did not come as a shock. After all, he was more than 90 years old and had spent the last few days in a coma.

Grandpa lived a long and interesting life. An artist of some renown, before he reached the age of 20, he left Sweden for France and spent most of his life alternating between the two countries. Until, he and my Grandmother (who passed away many years earlier), finally settled down permantly in the southern parts of his native country.

What I admired the most about my Grandfather was his boundless creativity: Whether it was through paintings, sculpting or writing haikus, he was always seeking out new and varied ways to express himself and continued to do so well into his final years. He also encouraged the creative side in others and was always very supportive of my own creative endeavors, be they writings or drawings.

In the end, my Grandfather passed away, after almost a century of living. He died peacefully in his sleep, which I would say is as good a death as one can hope for. He will be missed, by all those of us who had the privilege to know him.

Rest In Peace, Grandfather.