Wishing you a....

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Stay safe, have fun and may this new year be a wonderful one. :)

I miss you

Until we meet again Jack. I love you.

The Rainbow Bridge

Just this side of heaven is a place called Rainbow Bridge.

When an animal dies that has been especially close to someone here, that pet goes to Rainbow Bridge. There are meadows and hills for all of our special friends so they can run and play together. There is plenty of food, water and sunshine, and our friends are warm and comfortable. All the animals who had been ill and old are restored to health and vigor. Those who were hurt or maimed are made whole and strong again, just as we remember them in our dreams of days and times gone by. The animals are happy and content, except for one small thing; they each miss someone very special to them, who had to be left behind.

They all run and play together, but the day comes when one suddenly stops and looks into the distance. His bright eyes are intent. His eager body quivers. Suddenly he begins to run from the group, flying over the green grass, his legs carrying him faster and faster.

You have been spotted, and when you and your special friend finally meet, you cling together in joyous reunion, never to be parted again. The happy kisses rain upon your face; your hands again caress the beloved head, and you look once more into the trusting eyes of your pet, so long gone from your life but never absent from your heart.

Then you cross Rainbow Bridge together…

– Author Unknown

I found this on the 'net tonight and thought I would post it. The author is unknown. If anyone knows who wrote this, please let me know, I would like to give credit to them.


Christmas in The Dust
======================

I had no Christmas spirit
when I breathed a weary sigh,
And looked across the table
where the bills were piled too high.

The laundry wasn't finished
and the car I had to fix,
My stocks were down another point,
the Dolphins lost by six.

And so with only minutes
till my son got home from school
I gave up on the drudgery
and grabbed a wooden stool.

The burdens that I carried
were about all that I could take,
And so I flipped the TV on
to catch a little break.

I came upon a desert scene
in shades of tan and rust,
No snowflakes hung upon the wind,
just clouds of swirling dust.

And where the reindeer should have stood
before a laden sleigh,
Eight Hummers ran a column
right behind an M1A.

A group of boys walked past the tank,
not one was past his teens.
Their eyes were hard as polished flint,
their faces drawn and lean.

They walked the street in armor
with their rifles shouldered tight,
Their dearest wish for Christmas,
just to have a silent night.

Other soldiers gathered,
hunkered down against the wind,
To share a scrap of mail and dreams
of going home again.

There wasn't much at all
to put their lonely hearts at ease,
They had no Christmas turkey,
just a pack of MREs.

They didn't have a garland
or a stocking I could see,
They didn't need an ornament
they lacked a Christmas Tree.

They didn't have a present
even though it was tradition,
the only boxes I could see
were labeled "ammunition."

I felt a little tug
and found my son now by my side,
He asked me what it was I feared,
and why it was I cried.

I swept him up into my arms
and held him oh so near
and kissed him on the forehead
as I whispered in his ear.

There's nothing wrong my little son,
for safe we sleep tonight,
Our heroes stand on foreign land
to give us all the right,

To worry on the things in life
that mean nothing at all,
Instead of wondering if we
will be the next to fall.

He looked at me as children do
and said it's always right,
to thank the ones who help us
and perhaps that we should write.

And so we pushed aside the bills
and sat to draft a note,
to thank the many far from home,
and this is what we wrote:

God Bless You all and keep you safe,
and speed your way back home.
Remember that we love you so,
and that you're not alone.

The gift you give you share with all,
a present every day,
You give the gift of liberty
and that we can't repay.


~Author Unknown~

God Bless our Troops

Merry Christmas Eve!!!

I hope y'all have a wonderful and merry Christmas surrounded by friends and family. I myself will be taking a friend to the airport, working for 4 hours in the afternoon and then going to dinner and possibly a movie with a friend. I am very lucky in that the zoo is actually closed for Christmas. This is the only day the Zoo is (scheduled) closed (there are, of course, the closing that occur due to hurricanes and such but we've been very lucky with that too!). So...while I still have to go in ('cause the animals still need to fed, cleaned and enriched) I do not have to stay all day. In fact, since it's Christmas, if I work for four hours, I get paid for 8. :)



Since I'm only working four hours tomorrow, I get to spend more time with my "kids". It's a wonderful day indeed!


Merry Christmas everyone!!!!