Comfort in Friends...

Watching Friends, and yes, that is Dolce's stroller on the side.

Whenever I am going through a really hard time I watch the tv show Friends from beginning to end.  After my dad died I came home from spending time in California (I lived in Kansas at the time) and began my first Friends marathon.  When I had my car accident last year I started my Friends marathon again. In fact, after I had my car accident last year I was really depressed.  I stayed home from work for 4 or 5 days and during those days I spent my time in bed with Rico, Chico, Brownie and Dolce watching Friends.  This was the first time that Dolce really spent a lot of time with me and the rest of the dogs as a bonded family.  It was also the beginning of Dolce sleeping in the bed with us.  I loved Dolce before my car accident, but the time we spent napping and watching Friends in bed was really the point in which I believe we truly became a family.  Now when I look back on that time I recognize that through a difficult and upsetting experience I found true love and my little family became complete.    I think for the rest of my life when I watch a Friends marathon I will think back on how it played a major role in my relationship with Dolce.  Friends and Dolce will forever be connected and intertwined in my memory.

All 4 dogs sleeping in the bed during our Friends marathon (April 2011)

The day after Dolce passed away I started my Friends marathon.  In some ways I feel like Friends comforts me, but also it gives me a break from life.  Right now I am having a hard time returning to a routine.  I purposely do things differently, or I don't fully get myself ready in the morning for work because I'm not ready to start living again.  Right now I'm not ready to watch TV, my life has come to an abrupt stop since losing Dolce and I'm not ready to carry on like I'm not missing a high chunk of my life.  Friends gives me the opportunity to take a break and not force myself to move on before I am ready.  As I type this I am watching the beginning of Season 5, Monica and Chandler just decided to move in together.  Maybe I will feel ready to start getting back to a routine when I finish the show, and maybe I won't, but for now I'm hoping that my pain will lessen, and if not, that's okay.