Watching my 9 year old retriever heave herself up to her feet to go outside and seeing her limping from stiff joints brings home the fact that she won't be with us a whole lot longer.  Her breed isn't known for long-term lives.  We tend to grow extremely attached to our pets and make them more family than some of our own human relatives.  And that's the way it should be.  It breaks my heart to know that someday she won't be with us anymore.

And then I start thinking about how time marches on whether we want it to or not.  Time.  Wow.  I swear it was just a few years ago that I was ten years old and entering fifth grade.  Where did it go???  And forget the fact that the years these days pass more and more fast.  Wasn't it just xmas a few months ago???  And here we are just a few months from it again!  Summers are shorter (at least it seems that way), winters are longer.  And life...continues to happen.

Going back to school was one of the greatest decisions that I could have made and I'm absolutely loving it and my classes.  I'm looking forward to having a career eventually instead just a job.  I'm looking forward to knowing that I'll be happy with my life.  I'm looking forward to having steady and good income...and vacations!  In this respect...I sure wish time would move faster...because I want to get on with living!