Streak

Next week Streak will turn 26....I can't believe he is as old as he is.  One day he is creaking as he walks and the next he is acting like a 2 year old.  As he has aged, his star and strip have become wider - more smudged than it was in his youth.  He now has gray sprinkled throughout his coat...not noticable to most, but I see it.  Some days I wonder where time has gone....how did we both turn old without realizing it....why did I not enjoy every minute as I should have.  Streak has carried me many, many miles and has been a rock in my life.  No matter how bad or good things are or have been, he has been a constant for all of my adult life.  He has been there for me when I needed a shoulder to cry on, he has listened to me talk about what is good in my life and what is bad....it does not matter to him what I talk about, he is always willing to listen.  Streak has also taught me many valuable lessons.  I have learned to listen to him, to trust him.  He has never put me in harms way and has done everything he could to let me know when I was putting myself in danger.  He has been a babysitter and taught my oldest nieces how to ride.  I never had to worry when they were on his back, I knew he would take care of them.  He would always take care of me, too.  Yet, when he thought I was taking things a lot more seriously than I should or that I was taking things for granted, he delighted in putting me on the ground.  

Over the past several years I have taken what he has taught me for granted, have forgotten many of his lessons.  Now as I watch my best friend age and realize that he will not always be here, I am trying to live life to the fullest....live the lessons he has taught.  I know he could be gone tomorrow or he might just hang on for a few more years...only God knows when Streak will be torn out of my life, but while I have him here, I am going to continue to learn from him.  I can't let the future dictate today, I am going to live in the moment and enjoy what time I have left with my best friend.