H is for Harness

Here we are at Grandma's House, and just squeaking in for the Alphabe-Thursday letter H through the eyes of the child.

In unfamiliar territory it took a while to think of a word that starts with H, but the one she arrived at is very fitting in a sweet and sad kind of way. It used to be, you see, that a big part of the thrill of going to Grandma's House was getting to see Grandma's dog. Grandma's rambunctious, rascally, over-excitable, but beautiful, brindled boxer. Our children viewed McKenzie as sort of a long-distance pet. We have no pets of our own, and the fun of walking, feeding, and playing with Grandma's dog never got old (we went Home before that ever happened.) Sadly, McKenzie died about six months ago, somewhat suddenly though not unexpectedly. It has been very sad for Grandma, who misses her constant companion, and a great loss for the children as well.

Grandma is not quite up to the task of taking on another pet (though she would if we didn't put our foot down) and so there is a great void now at Grandma's House.

Today when asked for a word starting with H, the child thought for a long time, and then said, "Harness - McKenzie's Harness that we used to walk her," then promptly went to the closet and found it in its usual handy hanging spot. Luckily, the child had also brought (400 miles, in the van) our large stuffed dog which was more than Happy to model the Harness. Then I realized that she probably brought this dog to try to fill the void. Even after I snapped this photo she "walked" the dog around the house, much to our amusement.

In loving memory of sweet McKenzie, and all pets everywhere who have brought us so much joy.

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