Reflecting

Tomorrow is my office staff meeting I need to pull together with a presentation and also I have a speech to give that evening. I also am trying to put my thoughts together for the Guide Dogs for the Blind Fall Luncheon in Oregon. My dear friend, Debi and I will be sharing and it is going to be so special. As I do when I need a break, I turn to blogging to clear my head. Tomorrow is October 11th. This is a special day for me - it is the day I graduated with my first guide, Pantera. I celebrate and reflect on my graduation with Cricket as well. In a presentation I shared recently about this day I said: After graduation, my family recalls how they had a hard time keeping up with me as Pantera and I glided through the airport with a big smile on my face and a happy wag of the tail. My children learned at an early age the incredible joy and value of a guide dog in our family. My husband had the gift of knowing his wife was safe and going as fast as she wanted to go! Over 100 flights later with now my second guide Cricket, that first airport scene with a guide dog is something we still reminisce about in our family with joy and gratitude.

This special picture is taken the night before Pantera died and the last picture I have with my sweet guides together. It is sweet for many reasons. It was a special evening of celebrating these beautiful dogs and also I am reminded how Pantera gracefully stepped back as a retired dog and let Cricket be the guide.