The past few months have seemed like years: time has been elongated without Lila. At first I didn’t know what to do with all those hours I had spent with her every day, walking, playing, cooking, caring. She was never a healthy dog, yet very high spirited and challenging, both of which I enjoyed.
I soon realized I could paint all day. I had trained Lila to be alone in the morning while I was in my studio. But now I had all my hours to do anything but be with her. So I worked twice as much for a few months. Then, of course, I got sick. Just the flu or a bad cold, but I lay on the couch for two weeks, read, slept, coughed, watched (very) old movies and slept some more. It took another week to recover completely.
At the end of my three week horizontal stint, I had an exhibit at the Secord Gallery here in Halifax (opened October 3). By then I was fine, stood for three hours and talked to the many people at the show. But mostly, now, I feel more at peace, have become more comfortable with Lila being gone. I will always miss her, I know. But I also know I can never have her warm body here again, and, sadly, that’s the irony of falling in love with a dog.