Sharing Stories

After watching Marley & Me, I visited John Grogan's site, where he has a place for people to share their stories (Click here). I was hooked. As I read through them, I realised I wanted to share mine too. So I started writing. As with all my writing when I really get into it, they become rather long. So when I finished I hoped it would be too long. Unfortunately, every time I tried submitting it, it gave me 500 Internal Server Error! :( Dejected, I'm posting my story here instead. Maybe if I link it to the site it might work (Edit: Didnt work :() . Well this is my story then:

Hello! This my black lab mix Nero (Yes, he chewed off the end of his collar as can be seen in the photo. How he managed to contort himself to do that we never did figure out!!)

I read Marley and Me in July 2007, just a few days after we got our very first dog Nero. I was struck by the similarities I felt. Young couple, trying to settle down and have kids, me killing plants, deciding to get a dog, getting an exuberant puppy who quickly burrowed into our hearts and made it his permanent home there. I had started a blog about him. It is the only blog that I have started and have written in consistently. Marley & Me did also in some way help me in being consistent about blogging about Nero, helped me see how important it is to create a memory bank about how precious he is to me, and how precious each moment with him is. I even wrote about Marley & Me in my blog then. Here is the link to that entry: http://pal-illusion.blogspot.com/2007/07/life-love-death.html  

One and a half years have passed since then. Nero is all grown up. I saw Marley & Me, the movie last night. And yet again, it touched every emotion in me. I could now relate to even more experiences. The chewing, though he soon grew out of it, the being dragged behind him when we go on walks, and even in our personal life, a miscarriage a couple of months back, after trying for so long. Heres the blog entry I wrote after seeing the movie yesterday: http://pal-illusion.blogspot.com/2009/02/marley-me-revisited.html  

For me, Marley & Me is more than just another doggie story. It touches chords on a personal level on being a family, of being in a stage of life where you become more than just individuals, but become an extended entity, creating and nurturing to make more than what you start with. I keep Marley & Me as a beacon of hope, that one day we might have kids too; as a symbol of love, through thick and thin, across ages and species; as an expression of joy, at what we can have, and what precious memories we can build to savour each moment, long after its gone; and as a sharing of the sorrow of loss, that never goes away, but helps on being shared.  

As I read the other stories here, I feel a kinship with each of them. Each at a different stage in life, and yet all bound together with shared love. And I would like to thank John (& his family), for sharing his life experiences and creating such a space for others to share their experiences; and all other posters who care so deeply that it reflects in their sharing. Humans and dogs are social animals. Sometimes, its just enough to know that you are not alone. Thank you all and God bless.