Physically I can recall the relief when my vet said: NOT TODAY. Most of us have been there. We have thought the worst, expected it, braced for it with a short contingency plan = 2 days on the couch with a gallon of Haggen Daas.
If the worst is imminent, where do we go with the shock and dis-belief? Does it overwhelm us? For how long? To what deep effect? Asking the hardest questions: How are THE OTHERS going to be impacted? The kids? The other animals? What will I do with the handmade Christmas stocking – replete with matching hat for at least one photo a year? What will I do with that? That loss. That forever… that nothing can replace.
Even when it is 100% the right decision, then and now – doubt creeps in. But here’s the deal = don’t let it stay. Don’t hang on to it. Don’t give in. Don’t give it power. Look for someone else to love.
Because the truest #1 definition of GRIEF is "Love with no place to go."