Today I say goodbye to my best friend

Sophie,

Tonight I will have to say goodbye to you and give you to a new family. I just wanted to write a little note and tell you how much I love you and how much I will miss you.

I’ll never forget when we first got you 5 years ago. HJ and I had just gotten married and moved to town. She absolutely did not want a dog. But when we were walking into the store that day, we spotted a beat up old pickup truck with a cardboard sign saying, “puppies 4 sale.” Surprisingly, she wanted to stop and see. It was a hot summer day. When we looked into the back of the truck, we saw you and your siblings–all black. They all layed there panting in the heat, but you perked up and put your paws on the truck bed: the first lick you ever gave us. We agreed immediately that we would buy you–for $10 dollars. You were our first child. Later that day we took you down to the river. You skipped along in the tall grass, trying to keep up. You did NOT want to get in the water, you did not want to swim until you were older. As a puppy you got too cold.

Since you were a “rescue” puppy, we quickly realized we needed to take you to the vet. Your ears were infected and you had worms. That turned out to be nothing serious, you are such a healthy dog! As you grew, you easily learned your manners. You know so many tricks, and you were so easy to potty train. You did have a few rebellious moments when you became a teenager, but a little discipline quickly fixed that.

You had such energy as a puppy. I remember that time we went tubing all day down the river and you swam the whole way. That night you were so tired you would not move. Now you tire out much quicker. I’ve noticed that after a strenuous hike you get stiff and have trouble getting up. But don’t worry, I don’t mind picking you up and carrying you outside to go potty when you get stiff. Boy, we have had so many adventures together: hikes in the mountains, hikes to waterfalls, swims in the lakes, hunts in the woods…the list goes on and on. Plus there’s that game of keep-a-way that just you and I play. Do you remember that one time that we were hiking in the winter time and you fell through the ice? I managed to pull you out, although I got soaking wet and cold in the process. Or do you remember that one time you flushed out the bird and I shot it with my 12 gauge? Now you get excited anytime I get my gun out.

Sophie, I love it how you follow me around the house. I love how you lay at my feet and sleep. You spent countless hours at my feet, under my desk, as I typed my thesis for school. When I needed a break from all that studying, you gladly played outside with me. I still think it’s funny how you consider yourself a lap-dog. You often try to get in my lap when I’m sitting down, even though you are 75 pounds!

You’ve slept at the foot of my bed every night for these 5 years. And of course, each night before bed we go through our little bed-time ritual: I pat you on the head and tell you, “This is your bed, sleep like a pup.” Then when HJ and I are in bed and turn the light out the last thing we always say is, “Goodnight Sophie, sleep like a ball of goodness.” Then, each morning when I get up, you get up too.

Sophie, you shed like a mad-dog. Seriously, where does all that hair come from? Although this is my last day with you, I fully expect to find little black hairs here and there for the rest of my life. That’s why we jokingly say that you are omnipresent. For example, one time HJ and I were eating out at a fancy restaurant. During my meal I noticed a coarse black hair on the plate. I knew without a doubt that it was yours. I’m sure I’ll be finding those little black hairs here and there for the rest of my life!

As you know, Sophie, our family went through a huge change 18 months ago, when mom and I brought the baby home from the hospital. To be honest with you, I was unsure how you would handle that. I thought you might have some jealousy now that my affections would be divided. But you adjusted like a champ! Never once have I seen you lose your patience or get aggressive with the baby. You are so gentle with her, almost as if she were your own pup!  And I know you would never let anything happen to her. The first couple weeks you would even try to keep the neighbors and friends from getting too close to her. Now you and the baby have such a special friendship. She loves to pet you and climb on you. And you love the extra attention. Do you remember that the first time the baby ever giggled was when we were out on that walk. You picked up a huge log and started chewing on it, and the baby started giggling. How special!

Sophie, you have never seen me cry. In fact, I have not cried in over 5 years. But tonight when I say goodbye to you and give you one last hug, I am going to weep like a baby. Thank you so much for being my friend. Thank you for all the lessons you have taught me–I’ve learned many lessons about my faith in God from you, and that friendship can be had without a single word being spoken. You have given me a glimpse of unfailing love. I know you have not understood what has been going on these past few months as the house has emptied and the furniture has sold. At least we as a family have been together, right? Now I am sad to say that we must part. We simply cannot take you to live with us to Germany. Know that we will miss you every day. Know that every time I get done eating a meal and go to put the plate on the floor, I am going to feel sad since you will not be there to lick it up. Every walk I go on you will be missed. Every night I will get a knot in my throat when I go to pat you goodnight.

I know that you will find happiness in your new home. You will be with the neighbors just down the road. They have a black lab who is exactly your same age. You will be great playmates. The family is quiet and loving, just like us. In fact, you seemed very content there the other week when we gave it a trial run.

Sophie, thank you for the privilege of being your master,

you are forever in my heart,

Andy

Our home in Munich

I just read an interesting article about the Collegium where we’ll be living in Munich. If you are interested, you can read it HERE.

Bon Voyage

 

Dear friends and family,

In April we announced that we had decided to move to Germany. I thought now would be a good time to write a follow-up, mostly to describe God’s faithfulness in this process. Within four days we will leave Louisburg to spend the month of July visiting family before arriving in Munich on August 4^th. These last few weeks in Louisburg have been bitter sweet, as we’ve enjoyed several farewell parties and get-togethers with friends. Our house is mostly empty of possessions—a daily reminder that our blessings overflow. Andy works his last shift at the bank this week and Hannah-Joy busily packs our suitcases and cleans our house.

One big answer to prayer is that ALL of our stuff has sold! Although we feel a little like we are “camping” indoors this week, we are SO glad that everything, including both of our cars, has sold. We have learned a lot through the process as well, such as how to host an effective yard sale, how to sell books on Amazon, and that bicycles and rugs sell really easily on Craigslist (funny stories).

Another answer to prayer is that God has more than provided financially for our stay in Germany. Hannah-Joy has received an offer to nanny in Munich. Beginning in October, she will watch a seven month old girl for 20-25 hours per week, accompanied by our daughter Melody. And just this week Andy was informed that he was awarded a research stipendium through the Wolde Stiftung.

Please continue to keep us in your prayers, and let us know how we can be praying for you. Pray that our visits with family will be extra sweet since it will be a while before we see them again. Pray that Andy will be prepared for his German proficiency exam, which he will take at the end of September. Pray that our transition in Munich will go smoothly.

We look forward to hearing from you! In the meantime, we hope to keep our blogs regularly updated: http://bowdenblog.wordpress.com/ and http://bloominbowden.wordpress.com/

 

With love,

Andy, Hannah-Joy, and Melody.